


Ninth

by Sulphur99



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 50,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27400135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sulphur99/pseuds/Sulphur99
Summary: When Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals, he never thought he'd find a bejeweled necklace along with it. Neither did he think that it'd lead to having eight people screaming in his head from that day forward. If there's one thing he knows however, is that the Namikaze clan heads are an undeniably unique bunch.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 17





	1. A New Beginning

**Chapter 1. A new beginning**

* * *

"This is Fishcake, I have visual on the target." A young boy whispered into a wireless radio, which he had attached firmly to his ear. His eyes were firmly locked onto his elusive prey, the demon that they had been hunting down for hours. A beep sounded in his ear, followed soon by a young girl's voice.

"T-this is Sun, I'm in position." From his position atop the trees, he spied out from the corner of his eyes his teammate, who was lying in wait among the bushes. Though he wasn't sure if she could see him from where she was, he gave her a subtle nod, before he heard another beep.

"…Hn. I'm here."

"Oi, who the heck is "I"? We gave you a codename for a reason, why don't you use it?" The boy complained, pouting at his other teammate's lack of cooperation. He had spent a good amount of time thinking those codenames up, the least the guy could do was show some respect!

**[Focus.]**

He didn't need to be told twice. He brought his fingers up to the pendant hung around his neck, rolling it forward as if it were nodding. Sucking in a deep breath, the boy leapt and brought his hands together and intertwined his fingers.

" **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!** " In a burst of smoke, multiple copies of the boy sprang out, each one moving towards their target. The demon immediately reacted, hissing venomously before expertly dodging a clone's attempt at grabbing it. A mass of limbs reached out to it, only for them to grasp at empty air as it used their arms as a makeshift bridge, allowing it to jump to safety towards the bushes.

"It's going towards you, now's your chance!" The boy yelled out at someone unseen.

Realizing that something was up, the demon could do nothing but stare ahead as a young girl emerged from the bushes. It was too late for it to change its trajectory, so it did the only thing it could in such a situation. Just as the girl grabbed its torso, the demon unleashed one of its deadliest weapons.

"P-please don't resis-Ah, it scratched me!" Startled by its attack, the girl let go of the demon, allowing it to run free in the opposite direction.

"Dammit!" The boy swore, before pursuing in the direction the demon ran in. "Taka, it's all up to you now!"

His clones dashed ahead of him, curving around the target in an attempt to cut off its escape route. Just as the demon attempted to turn back, another boy who has disguised himself as part of a tree sprang out, successfully catching it off guard. Exhausted from its attempts of escape, the demon resigned itself to its miserable fate and let out a disappointed mrowl.

It would enter hell once more.

* * *

"Oh, my cute Tora! I'll never let you go again!" Madame Shijimi wailed as she smothered her pet cat. The distressed animal struggled miserably against its owner's affections, futilely letting its displeasure be known through its angry meows.

"Heh, serves you right you demonic cat!" Naruto jeered, taking delight in the cat's suffering. After the damned thing gave them the runaround for the better part of the day, it was nice to see some payback being inflicted on it, even if he wasn't doing it himself.

**[After seeing this, it's no wonder it ran away! Treat it more gently, animals aren't meant to be handled that way!]**

**[You always did like animals huh? Well, can't say that I disagree here.]**

Naruto's eye twitched, as his moment of glory was ruined by the voices in his head. God, that sounded worse than he thought. He wasn't crazy last he checked, but after everything that's happened to him thus far, he wouldn't be surprised if he was. It'd explain a lot of things.

"U-um, Naruto-kun?" A gentle voice broke him out of his worries as he saw his teammate Hyūga Hinata approached him with a small container in hand.

"Tora scratched you a lot on our way here, s-so I was wondering if you'd like some of my family's healing salve?" Hinata shyly asked, ever red-faced as usual. A part of Naruto wondered why she always seemed to act that way around him, but that part was quickly quashed in favor of replying to her offer.

"Really? Thanks, Hinata, you're a lifesaver!" Naruto took the offered container in hand and started liberally applying the ointment.

"Oh, but you got scratched a bunch just now too, didn't you? Are you alright now?" He asked as he continued to apply the ointment, occasionally hissing in mild pain as the healing substance coated his wounds.

Seemingly exploding into a deeper shade of red, Hinata couldn't help but show a demure smile as she played with her fingers shyly.

"Y-yes, but I already used the ointment on myself, so I'm fine."

"Is that so? That's good then!" Naruto grinned, before capping the container and handing it back to Hinata.

**[Uwah, she wants it bad! Oi Naruto, you should hurry up and take notice of her already, I feel bad just looking at her.]**

Wants it? Want what? Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, Naruto brought his hands up to his pendant and tilted it sideways, as if he were tilting his own head in confusion.

**[Don't tell me, you really don't know? Geez, how dense can you be? I'm not going to tell you until you figure it out for yourself, I guess.]**

Though he was still puzzled by the response, Naruto couldn't reply as he heard the Third Hokage look up from his desk and address his team.

"Now then, Team Seven's next mission is…" The wizened old man began, before humming in interest. Naruto felt a thrill of excitement course through his body as he listened on. After what they had just went through, surely the next mission was something more exciting, right? What could it be? An epic quest to save a princess? A hunt for rogue ninja? A mission to liberate a village from the clutches of a tyrant?

"Babysitting Yojyu-sama's son." Naruto's grin fell from his face.

"Procuring supplies from a neighboring town." Naruto's face slowly shifted into a grimace.

"Helping to dig up potatoes at-"

"NO!" Naruto yelled out in protest, no longer able to stay silent. "No thanks to any of those! Give me something more exciting already, old man!"

**[N-Naruto! You mustn't address the Third Hokage like that! Hurry up and apologize!]**

**[Ain't it fine? I agree that he should be doing something more fitting for his status already, all of these are just menial tasks.]**

As the voices in his head continued to berate him, Hinata too became flustered.

"A-ah, Naruto-kun you shouldn't speak like that." Hinata gently advised, too shy to actually admonish her blond teammate.

**[Hinata-chan really is a good kid huh? You better treat her kindly, Naruto.]**

Wasn't he already treating her nicely though? Pouting due to both of their words, Naruto crossed his arms indignantly.

"My point still stands! I want to do a mission that's more exciting! Don't you agree, Sasuke?" The blond genin asked as he turned to his other teammate for support. He got none however, as the ever-stoic teen simply grunted as he looked on disinterestedly.

Meanwhile, Kakashi let out a sigh as he watched Naruto raise a ruckus. He'd already expected something like this to happen sooner or later. His musing was interrupted however, when he heard the sound of palms smacking against a table.

"You idiot! You're still just a novice!" Iruka shouted angrily at his ex-student. "Everyone starts with these sort of easy missions so as to build up experience!"

"But, but…!" Naruto continued to childishly whine. "We've only been doing boring missions late-Ghack!" Kakashi's fist slammed onto the back of his head, interrupting his impassioned speech for justice.

"Cut it out already." Kakashi admonished, watching as Naruto crumpled to the floor in pain. But before he could apologize to the Third Hokage for his student's outburst, he was interrupted by the man himself.

"Naruto." The man sternly began, putting down his cherished pipe as Naruto got back up. "It looks like I need to explain to you exactly what missions are in this village."

**[Ah, he's going into a lecture. That Hiruzen, he never changes. As expected of "The Professor", I guess.]**

The Professor? He'd never heard anyone call the Third Hokage that before. It would explain why the old man seemed to love giving long lectures, especially on topics related to ninjas. Speaking of which…

"Listen to me Naruto!" The Third Hokage scolded. He never liked it when one of his lectures were being ignored.

"I'm sorry about all this." Kakashi apologized on behalf of his student. To the jōnin's dismay, said student groaned and stood up.

"You've always lectured me like that old man." Naruto complained, before him giving a determined look. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not the kid who used to pull pranks anymore!"

As Naruto said that, his hand went up to clutch meaningfully at the pendant hung on his neck. A blue gem was shone brilliantly in the middle, encrusted by veins of silver metal surrounding it.

Upon seeing this, all Kakashi could do was lament the fact that he would undoubtedly get a scolding for his student's obstinate behavior later. As he moved to apologize once more, he noticed both Iruka and the Third Hokage grinning.

"Alright then, so be it!" The Third Hokage said, taking a puff of his pipe. Naruto looked at him in shock, a sentiment that was shared between his teammates as well.

"If you insist so badly, I'll let you all take on a C-Ranked mission." Leaning forward, The Third Hokage added. "It's to escort a certain person."

"Really? Who?! Who?!" Naruto eagerly asked, his excitement from before returning in full force.

"I'll introduce you to him now." The old Hokage then turned towards the door behind the trio of genin and their teacher. "Can you please enter now?"

The four turned their attentions to the door, and watched in anticipation as the door slowly slid open. What they did not expect to see, was a drunk old man stumbling through the door.

"Haah? They all just a bunch of brats!" The bespectacled man belligerently complained, taking a long swig from a large bottle of sake. The brief moment of silence was enough for Naruto to take in the man's appearance. He had a head full of grey hair and a white towel draped around his neck, though his face was currently flush from the alcohol. He wore a dark grey sleeveless shirt coupled with a pair of beige pair, all held together by a sash tied around his waist.

Finally separating his lips from his booze, the man's eyes drunkenly scanned the room, ultimately falling upon Naruto's figure. He grimaced and looked past the trio of genin.

"Is that idiotic looking shorty really a ninja?" He directed his question towards the man standing near the three.

**[Oi, who are you calling a shorty! He's someone of a higher standing than you, show some respect!]**

**[Dad, he can't hear you!]**

**[I don't care, no one insults my grandson and gets away with it!]**

**[The two of you need to calm down. Though you have to admit that Naruto is rather short.]**

**[Father, I think that's unfair coming from you, you were born the tallest out of all of us here after all.]**

**[Tch, don't just take an insult like that lying down, what kind of man are you?!]**

Eyes twitching, Naruto clenched his fists. He would've said something even without the cacophony of voices currently screaming in his head. But before he could say anything, the man took another quick swig of his bottle and began to introduce himself.

"I'm a super bridge-building expert. The name's Tazuna." He began, his earlier drunkenness seemingly fading away. "Your job is to follow me back to my country and protect me with your lives while I complete a bridge."

Upon hearing that, Naruto's angry slowly faded away and gave into elation. Finally, a proper sounding mission!

"Don't you worry about a thing, we'll protect you! We won't even break a sweat!" Naruto puffed his chest out. "Right guys?"

"Hn."

"U-um, I-I'll do my best!"

Tazuna grimaced once more. Would he really be alright with these kids? He was already taking a huge risk though, seeing as how he hasn't really been totally honest about his situation.

Well, he'll cross that bridge when he gets there.

* * *

"Then I'll meet you guys later at the gates. I'm paying good money for you guys, so you better not be late."

And with those words, the team dispersed to go prepare for the upcoming mission. As Naruto leapt across rooftops on his way home, he heard the voices arguing once more.

 **[Keh, I still think we should've socked him across the face for what he said.]** One voice said.

 **[It wouldn't have done anything to benefit us other than self-satisfaction. Besides, right now he is Naruto's client. It would've reflected badly on him if he'd actually attacked him. Not that you would understand, you barbarian.]** Another voice retorted.

**[What was that?! That's no way to talk to your father, dammit!]**

**[That aside, you should really hurry up Naruto. We need to talk to you before you leave, and you only have so much time.]** A third voice urged.

"Talk to me? Can't you just do it right now then?" Naruto asked, finally being able to reply to them. It was unfair that they could clamor and complain in his head, but he couldn't shoot anything back at them until he was alone. He didn't want to add "talks to himself' to his reputation after all, and it was just plain weird to do it anyway. Even now, he wasn't used to having to communicate with those that spoke to him within his mind.

He supposed it meant that they couldn't hear his private thoughts though, so that was a silver lining.

 **[Well, we could just talk to you about it now, but we think it'd be best if we spoke face to face this time. There's a lot to teach you before you head out, and it'll be easier to do once you're with us.]** A fourth voice kindly explained. Upon hearing him speak, Naruto's heart clenched a bit. He couldn't help it, knowing who that voice belonged to.

"Got it. I'm almost there, just give me a minute." Naruto accepted the explanation and redoubled his efforts.

True to his words, Naruto soon reached his humble abode, a ramshackle apartment. Upon entering, he was immediately on the receiving end of complaints.

 **[No matter how many times I see this, I can still hardly believe my eyes.]** Lamented a fifth voice.

 **[To think after so many years of cultivating our land and legacy, we would be left with this.]** A sixth voice agreed.

 **[It's mortifying, yes, but there's not much we can do about right now. I'm sure Naruto will find a solution eventually though!]** A seventh voice boisterously proclaimed.

**[Leave that aside for now. Naruto, we need you to hurry up and come to us. There's a lot we need to get out of the way, and the clock is ticking away.]**

Curious as to what they could be talking about, Naruto quickly took a seat on a nearby chair. He still wasn't used to doing this, but he figured he'll warm up to it eventually. Naruto closed his eyes, and he relaxed his body, focusing his thoughts upon his destination.

His consciousness slowly began to slip, and soon, his world was overtaken by the sweet darkness of slumber.

Upon opening his eyes, Naruto was greeted by the sight of two grown men wrestling each other on the floor. One was dressed like a savage, with animal pelts all over his back and shoulders in a coat, leaving his chest and abdomen exposed. His unkempt, red hair tossed around wildly as he struggled with the other man, who was dressed like a hunter. Said hunter had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, with two long strands framing his face.

 **[I'll teach you not to talk back to me, you unfilial child!]** The barbarian spat, locking his thick arm around the hunter's neck.

 **[You've never taught me anything before, what makes you think that'll change now you deadbeat dad?!]** The hunter retorted, using a one hand to pull at the arm around his neck while using the other to push against the barbarian's face.

"They're going at it as usual, huh?" Naruto awkwardly commented. Such a sight was commonplace where he was, though it usually involved not just the two struggling on the floor right now. Turning his attention away from the ruckus the two generated, Naruto took in the sight before him in full.

The room itself seemed paradoxically expansive, yet small at the same time. A wide, circular table was in the centre of the room, with large, high-class chairs surrounding them. Naruto himself was seated in one of said chairs, its backrest far exceeding his diminutive height. They totalled nine including his own, with three to his left, four to his right, and one directly across of him. Doors stood a distance behind each chair, each of them having a similar, yet slightly different design.

Around the room, were multiple circular blue orbs that were embedded in various places, along with a large one place right in the middle of the table. It glowed with a pale light, casting rays of light that were reflected by the large crystalline chandelier above it.

 **[Ahaha, just ignore them for now.]** A third man replied, who was sat directly to his left. Unlike the two from before, this man had silky blond hair, and was dressed like one of those low-ranking noblemen that Naruto had pranked before. Unlike those snooty noblemen however, this one had a frivolous, carefree air around him.

 **[Since you're finally going out on a mission outside the village, we thought it'd be a great time to finally impart some of our skills onto you.]** A fourth man smiled, though if you were to count the seats clockwise from where Naruto was seated, he'd be considered the eighth man in the room. He had spiky blond hair and was dressed like any other ninja in Konoha, only that he stood out with his white robe which he wore over his uniform. He had an extremely recognizable face, one that Naruto knew all too well.

How could he not? After all, it was literally carved in stone, overlooking the village for all to see. He'd be a fool to not be able to recognize his own hero's face when it was staring right back at him in the flesh.

Not just a corrected himself. For the man who was seated to his right was none other than his father. Just the knowledge of that made his heart soar, and he returned the smile as brightly as he could.

 **[Ah, that's right.]** The first man jumped in, returning to his seat right across from Naruto's. **[I've acknowledged you after that little training exercise with your teacher, so now it's time for you to learn the fun stuff.]**

Hearing that, Naruto's smile widened. He looked at the eight men seated before him. Ever since he was a child, Naruto had lamented the fact that he was alone. He cursed the fact that he was left to fend for himself in a population that seemingly hated him for reasons he never knew.

And while he now knows about the existence of the Nine-Tailed Fox residing within him, that didn't erase the bitter memories of being released from class, only to see other children having their parents pick them up, while he stood alone with no one to care for him. The derisive glares he received as he walked alone in the streets of Konoha. The scornful scowls thrown his way whenever he entered a store. All without anyone to guide him.

But no longer. He was not alone.

For before him, sat eight different generations of Namikaze.

* * *

A/N: Hoo boy. How's it going everyone? Thanks for reading the first chapter of [Ninth]. I certainly hope it has managed to grab your attention. If it wasn't obvious enough already, it's heavily inspired by a certain light novel aka [Seventh]. Chapter 2 has already been completed, which I will likely release after I've finished Chapter 3. Hopefully such an upload model will work for now, though if it doesn't, I'll likely make it a bi-weekly thing.

I do want to say though, it's a pretty nice feeling to be writing again. If you're here because you've read [Infinite Possibilities] and followed me as a result, it's nice to see you all again. I'm sorry that I dropped the story all of a sudden, though I had my reasons.

But man, it's been what, seven whole years? A lot of things have happened since then. To think that I'm 21 now. Time sure passes by.

But that's enough from me. I'll do my best to work on Chapter 3 asap, so that I can release chapter 2 to you all sooner. Until then, ciao~

A/N2: The above was written when this was first posted on FFN. I'm cross-posting this over here now, so hopefully everyone will be receptive.


	2. Namikaze

**Chapter 2. [Namikaze]**

* * *

"Crap crap crap, I'm going to be late!" Naruto sped through the rooftops of Konoha, his loud shouts drawing the attention of curious onlookers on the streets below.

 **[I'm sorry, it looks like we took much longer than we expected.]** The voice of the Eighth Generation Namikaze Head, Minato Namikaze apologized in his head.

Indeed, the talks Naruto had with his ancestors certainly took way longer than any of them had expected. He had a lot of information to digest, but that was the least of his worries right now.

"Aw man, Kakashi-sensei's going to kill me! After I made such a big deal about the mission too!" Naruto lamented, already fearing what punishment he might be facing in the near future.

 **[True, if you keep going at your current pace, you'll undoubtedly be late.]** The Fourth Generation Namikaze Head, Shigeru Namikaze observed. **[But that's where I come in.]**

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his face scrunching up in confusion as he continued to leap from rooftop to rooftop.

 **[Weren't you paying attention to what we told you earlier? Well, I suppose it is a lot to take in all at once. Very well, let me explain again.]** Naruto could practically hear the sound of the Fourth pushing up his glasses.

 **[The pendant you're currently in possession right now is a Namikaze Clan heirloom known as a Gem. Its purpose is to record the Skills and experience of its current owner and pass it down to the next. A Skill is a unique ability that manifests within members of nobility, something akin to the Kekkei Genkai that ninja clans possess.]** The bespectacled man paused, seemingly thinking about something else. **[While our presence here is…unprecedented, the Gem's purpose remains the same. Now then Naruto, do you recall what my Skill was?]**

Naruto wracked his brain for an answer. Truth be told, most of what had been relayed to him went over his head. Sure, he was eager to learn more about his family and all their awesome abilities, but between the bickering and large amounts of explanations he sat through, his brain just wasn't able to keep up with the flood of information presented to him. Not that made him dumb or anything. Nuh-uh.

 **[I see that you've seemed to have already forgotten.]** Shigeru sighed. **[My Skill is something that will undoubtedly help you in your current situation. It has to do with running, sound familiar?]**

Of course! Naruto grinned, finally remembering that little tidbit of information that he had managed to glean from the conversation before. His grin quickly faded from his face however, when he realized something.

"So, uh…How do I use Skills?" Naruto sheepishly asked, taking a quick break as he awaited an answer.

 **[Haaah? Haven't you used a Skill at least once or twice in your life?]** The First Generation Namikaze Head, the founder of his family's legacy, Taichi Namikaze jumped in.

"As a matter of fact, I haven't…" Naruto trailed off. The disapproval coming from his ancestor was palpable, but Naruto would like to think that it wasn't his fault. It wasn't like there was anyone around to teach him after all.

 **[Between your lack of a Skill and your rather lackluster abilities in Ninjutsu, I'm surprised you even got this far.]** Mused the Fifth Generation Namikaze Head, Yuuma Namikaze. **[Ah, that isn't to say that it's completely hopeless for you. Your Skill simply hasn't manifested yet.]**

His own Skill? While he didn't appreciate how the Fifth worded it, just the thought of having his own Skill shot a thrill of excitement across his veins. He wondered what kind of awesome Skill he'd have, but realizing that time was passing by, he quickly snapped out of his musing.

"Hey, can we leave all that for later? If this Skill thingy can really let me reach in time, then tell me how to do it already." Naruto urged.

 **[Well, it's not exactly something that we can tell you how to do.]** The Third Generation Namikaze Head, Masato Namikaze explained. **[For now, just try to think about using it, and the Gem should do the rest.]**

That was awfully vague. There wasn't anything he could do about it though, so he followed his ancestor's instructions. Closing his eyes, he focused his thoughts onto the Gem. And as if the information was directly inserted into his mind, there it was. He understood what he needed to do.

_**[Speed]** _

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and soon enough an orange blur shot off from the building, leaving only trails of dust in his wake.

* * *

Kakashi glanced up from his latest copy of Icha Icha Paradise, noting the sun's position. It was almost time to leave the village, but Naruto had yet to arrive.

What could be keeping him? Kakashi knew that Naruto wasn't exactly the most meticulous of people, but he couldn't help but wonder if the blonde genin was still stuck at home thinking over what to bring for the mission. Just as he was about to snap his novel shut and go look for the boy, he spotted an orange figure rapidly approaching from a distance. It was only when it got closer and closer, that Kakashi realized that the orange figure was in fact his tardy student.

Naruto landed with a resounding thud, kicking up a plume of dirt and dust. The blonde stumbled a bit, seemingly a bit disoriented from his landed. He quickly recovered however, and bounded over to his team.

"Sorry to keep everyone waiting, I'm not late, am I?" Naruto asked between gasps of air. It seemed like he had been running for quite some time.

"Well, you almost were." Kakashi replied, eyeing the blonde genin. His other two students hadn't noticed, but the speed at which Naruto had approached them was much higher than what he was shown to be capable as far as Kakashi knew. Was it just due to a heightened sense of urgency due to it being his first C-Ranked mission?

"Since your lungs seem to be giving you plenty of grief right now, I'll let it slide this time. Try not to let this happen again, alright?" The silver-haired jōnin continued, filing away his observations for later.

"Now then, I trust all three of you are sufficiently prepared?" He turned towards his other two students. As expected of the Uchiha scion, Sasuke merely grunted in affirmation, while the ever demure Hyūga girl gave a shy nod.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be! Let's get this show on the road!" Naruto loudly proclaimed.

* * *

Tazuna was worried. Truth be told, lately it seemed that there wasn't a single day when he wasn't. But right now, he was especially worried.

"Alllllright! We're off!" The orange-clad brat loudly proclaimed.

"Naruto-kun, y-you seem to be quite excited." Observed the shy girl. Hinata, if he recalled correctly. True to her words, the blonde in question spun around excitedly.

"I mean, I've never left the village before! Why wouldn't I be excited!"

Hoo boy. This kid was supposed to protect him, yet he hadn't even seen the outside world yet? It didn't engender any sort of confidence in regards to his safety, in fact it did the opposite.

" _Maybe I should've told the truth and applied for a higher-ranking mission…"_ He stopped himself before he could continue that line of thinking. It was too late to regret that now. And besides, this C-Ranked mission alone had used up most of what little money he was able to scrounge up between him, his daughter, and some of his most trusted men. A mission with a higher ranking would have more than likely been way above what he could actually afford.

Perhaps his worries made their way onto his face, for the silver-haired adult accompanying them approached him and laughed amicably.

"As their teacher in charge and a jōnin, I'll be watching over him. There's no need to worry."

Tazuna certainly hoped that was the case. There was too much riding on the success of this mission for it to not.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the group below, two shadowy figures danced gracefully and swiftly among the treetops. Landing on a nearby branch, the two watched as their mark and his escorts started making their way down the dirt path towards the Land of Waves.

"A trio of genin, as well as a jōnin…Nothing we need to worry about, huh brother?" One of them asked.

"Don't be too hasty to judge. We don't know what that jōnin is capable of." The other replied. "It'll be fine though. I have a plan."

"Heh, business as usual then? As expected of my brother." The man grinned beneath his mask. "I'll leave it to you then."

"But of course." The other man paused. "Although…"

"Hm? What's up?"

"…Could you move back a bit?" He coughed. "You're too close."

"Ahh, my bad, my bad." The first man backed away, flustered. "I couldn't get a good view from back there, so I had to move closer."

Was that so? Whatever. Now wasn't the time to question his brother's understanding of personal space. He stood up, preparing to move ahead of his mark. His plan will surely go without a hitch. Grinning to himself, he leapt forward.

It was time for the Demon Brothers to hunt once more.

* * *

"It's kinda peaceful, huh?" Naruto observed, hands casually folded behind his head. They had been walking for a bit of time now, with not much having happened in the meantime. It honestly wasn't quite what he was expecting.

 **[Isn't that fine? You've gotta cherish quiet moments like this.]** Masato said.

 **[That's rich coming from you. Whose fault do you think it was that I rarely had a moment to rest?!]** Shigeru angrily shot back.

**[Ahaha, don't sweat the small details, Shigeru. Besides, things worked out in the end, didn't it?]**

**[Only because I worked my ass off!]**

" _They're a rowdy bunch, huh?"_ Naruto hadn't expected his ancestors to be exchanging verbal jabs like this when he first encountered them. Then again, he never thought he'd ever meet them in the first place.

Naruto glanced down at the Gem – or rather, the Jewel hung around his neck. Apparently when he gained possession of the Gem, its space expanded upon registering his Skill, causing it to transform into a "Jewel". At least, that was what Masato had theorized as to why his ancestors were able to converse with him and each other like this.

Up till now, it was merely a tool that allowed one to use the Skills of previous wielders, but apparently something had changed to manifest the ability to talk to the Gem's past wielders -his ancestors-. Most of the theory went over Naruto's head, but he accepted it for what it was.

Of course, that didn't mean that it didn't come with its own set of circumstances. Even now, as he heard his ancestors bicker with each other, he felt a small, but noticeable drain on his chakra reserves. It wasn't a big deal, thanks to his abnormally large pool of chakra, but it had an effect all the same. Using Skills took a bigger chunk out of his reserves too, more than he'd expected. If he wasn't careful with its usage, he could end up draining himself before he could do anything.

Well, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. Smiling to himself, Naruto brought a finger up to the Jewel. He couldn't help but think about the stroke of luck that led to him obtaining it.

* * *

**-A few days ago-**

Naruto snickered as he watched the Third Hokage's body slump to the floor, unconscious and bleeding out from his nose. He couldn't believe his luck! He had just subdued the village leader with a simple transformation, and was now free to look for the Scroll of Seals.

"Sorry, old man." Naruto whispered to the elderly man. "But I'm gonna have to take this if I want to ever become a ninja." He then went about searching the shelves, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Eventually he spotted a large green scroll at the corner of a shelve next to the Hokage's desk. The scroll itself was nondescript, and was buried amongst multiple smaller scrolls.

That had to be it, right? After all wasn't bigger always better? Confident in the wisdom of his logic, Naruto grabbed the scroll and began to pull. To his surprise, the scroll would not budge. Putting in more force, Naruto grunted and groaned, pulling at the unmoving scroll. Just how lodged in there was the thing?!

"Just. Move. Dammit!" Naruto grunted. Mustering his strength, Naruto gave the scroll one large tug. To his surprise, the scroll instantly came loose, as if it hadn't been stuck at all. Unfortunately for the blonde youth, he hadn't anticipated the scroll to suddenly lose all resistance to his efforts, and he quickly lost balance from the momentum.

Tripping over his own feet, his body fell onto the shelves behind him. As if they were a line of dominoes, the shelves began to fall upon one another, setting off a chain reaction that sent all their contents onto the floor.

Naruto groaned in discomfort, opening his eyes to see the carnage that he has accidentally unleashed upon the office. Panic shot through Naruto once he regained his bearings. Had the noise alerted the guards?

*BONK*

"AH! What the hell was that?!" Naruto rubbed his head in pain. Something hard had just fallen right on top of his head, and he was none too pleased about that. The object in question rolled off the top of his head, landing onto the wooden floorboards with a resounding *thunk*. A pendant of sorts laid there; its silver chains sprawled around haphazardly. His eyes trailed along the loops of silver, following them to where they were attached to a large gem. It shone in the moonlight with a pale blue colour, the reflected light captivating Naruto's eyes.

Naruto couldn't help but pick the gem up, but as soon as he did, he heard the sound of footsteps and shouting voices.

"Aw crap, they're here already?!"

Naruto hastily shoved the gem into one of his many pockets. He then quickly leapt out of one of the room's windows, though not without making sure to snag the scroll he had went through all this trouble for in the first place.

He couldn't be stopped now. Not when he was so close to finally becoming a genin.

* * *

-Later that night-

Naruto's eyes snapped open. Where the hell was he? Last he'd checked, he was back at his apartment home, having just gone through the ordeal of being betrayed by his ex-teacher Mizuki, as well as having the bombshell of being the Nine-Tailed Fox's container being dropped on him.

Where he was now, certainly didn't line up with what he'd remembered. A wide room in a place he didn't know, with furniture that he sure as hell didn't own.

But the strangest part was definitely the eight pair of eyes staring at him, all belonging to eight men of varying age and sizes.

 **[It would seem our guest has arrived.]** A man with silky blonde hair that reached to his shoulders addressed Naruto. His red eyes scanned his fellow blonde, sizing the youth up.

**[I understand that you must be confused, but rest assured, we mean you no harm.]**

"Rest assured? How the hell am I supposed to do that? Who are you people?! Why am I here?! Why is that guy dressed like a barbarian?! He looks like a weirdo!"

 **[The hell did you just say?!]** The aforementioned barbarian raged. **[These clothes are the symbol of a man's pride and achievements, they're not weird at all!]**

 **[That's what you're concerned about?]** A man seated next to the red-haired barbarian deadpanned. Unlike the person he sat next to, he was dressed in clothes that Naruto identified as a hunter's, albeit being a really archaic looking version. Even his blue eyes were like that of a hunter's, though his piercing gaze was currently directed at the savage next to him.

 **[** **Well, I guess being called a barbarian does fit you.]**

**[Wha-Why you little brat! I don't remember raising you to talk to your elders like that!]**

**[You barely raised me at all, you deadbeat! You were too busy mucking around in the fields!]**

**[Grrr…You ungrateful brat!]**

**[Barbaric meathead!]**

Naruto could do nothing but stare in disbelief as the two men started to come to blows with one another. What kind of weirdos was he stuck with?

 **[I never would've thought that the esteemed founder of our clan would be so…boisterous.]** A fourth man commented, pushing up his glasses uncomfortably.

 **[Right, I never did manage to talk to you about your grandfather, did I?]** The green-haired man sheepishly added.

**[I mean, you did die when I was just a child. How much trouble did you think I had to go through because of that?]**

An awkward silence fell between the two men. Naruto took the opportunity to get a good look at all the men surrounding him.

The two to directly across of him were currently locked in an intense arm-wrestling match (How the hell did it even come to that?). The barbarian's red hair was noticeably wilder and more unkempt; as opposed to the hunter's longer, yet tamer black hair that was tied in a ponytail.

To Naruto's left, sat the blonde-haired man that had greeted him when he awoke in this bizarre room. Currently, he was looking away from the bespectacled man to his left, awkwardly scratching his head. Said bespectacled man simply stared back at him, his immaculate blue hair giving off the impression of an intellectual. Both of them wore similar clothes that had an air of nobility to them, though the blonde man wore green whereas the blue-haired man wore blue.

Seated on the other side of the table, to the barbarian's left, was a fifth man with dark green hair. His eyes seemed to be shut and he wore a genial smile, and yet Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that he was keenly evaluating him. He didn't have as large of a build as compared to some of the other men, though that didn't make him feel any less threatening. He too, was dressed in a nobleman's garb, though his was pitch black.

To his left, seated a muscular man, whose red hair flowed into his beard like a lion's mane. It gave off a wild impression, though less so than that of the savage that was directly opposite of Naruto. Instead, his demeanour was like that of a delinquent's, a troublemaker after Naruto's own heart. In contrast to his appearance however, was the fine-quality noble garbs that he wore. They had noticeably more prominent gold trimmings as opposed to the men he had observed before, though what that meant, Naruto did not know.

A man with grey hair beamed at Naruto. He was seated to the left of the delinquent, dressed in an even more expensive looking attire. From his rugged features and well-groomed hair, Naruto could tell that the man was normally very stern, and yet he felt none of that from how the man seemed positively elated from seeing Naruto. For what reason, Naruto couldn't possibly tell.

And then came the final man, seated directly to his right. He too had blonde hair, but his was spiky as opposed to the earlier one's waviness. His deep blue eyes belied a complex mix of emotions, and the man seemed like he wanted desperately to say something, and yet couldn't find the means to put it into words.

Naruto stared at the man. There was something awfully familiar about him. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto leaned forward and scrutinized his fellow spiky blonde.

Wait. Naruto's eyes slowly widened. Naruto definitely recognized him. But it couldn't possibly be real, could it? After all, the man was…

"THE FOURTH HOKAGE?!" Naruto exclaimed, drawing the attention of all of the room's occupants. The man in question could only awkwardly laugh, having suddenly been thrust into the spotlight.

"W-w-what the hell is going on? Why is the Fourth Hokage sitting next to me like we're on some kind of council meeting? Isn't he dead?!" Naruto started hyperventilating, his mind going into overdrive. "Am _I_ dead?"

 **[Wait Naruto, calm down!]** The Fourth Hokage tried to placate the younger blonde, his hand waving around in panic. **[We'll explain everything, so calm down!]**

"Calm down?! How do you want me to calm down?!" Naruto raged. "I-I have so many questions, so many things that happened to me! How am I supposed to-"

Naruto's ranting was abruptly halted when the Fourth Hokage gently, but firmly placed his hands upon Naruto's shoulders. Naruto looked into the Fourth Hokage's eyes, blue orbs much like his own, and inexplicably found himself being calmed by them. The Fourth Hokage smiled and moved his hands away.

 **[I know that there's a lot going through your mind right now.]** He began. The man sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair. **[Truth be told, there's a lot right now that I don't understand myself. But I promise you, I'll answer any question you have to the best of my ability.]**

"…'d you do it?" Naruto muttered; his eyes downcast.

 **[Pardon me?]** The blonde Hokage blinked. **[Sorry, I didn't quite catch that.]**

"I said, why'd you do it?!" Naruto cried out, tears stinging his eyes. "Why'd you seal the Nine-Tailed Fox in me?"

His proclamation sent a wave of reactions throughout the men in the room. The barbarian stared blankly ahead, while the hunter grimaced. The seemingly ever-present smile on the blonde nobleman's face immediately faded, and the blue-haired man's spectacles slipped down to his nose. The green-haired man's eyes opened for the first time since Naruto had encountered him, while the delinquent and grey-haired man's jaws dropped.

 **[Oi oi oi…]** The delinquent broke the silence, a cold sweat breaking out over his face. **[What's this about the Nine-Tailed Fox?]**

 **[I believe everyone else here is just as clueless as you.]** The intellectual looking man adjusted his glasses, before glancing at the Fourth Hokage. **[Everyone, except for you, I presume.]**

The man in question stayed silent, his brows furrowing. The tension in the air was palpable, as everyone in the room -including Naruto- stared at the blonde man in hopes for answers.

Finally, he began to open his mouth.

 **[I…]** The Fourth Hokage gulped.

Everyone waited for him to continue with bated breaths, the tension reaching a fever pitch.

 **[I don't know! Hahahahah!]** The Fourth Hokage sheepishly laughed, causing everyone else to face fault.

 **[What kind of response is that, Minato?!]** The grey-haired man complained. **[You were always a bright kid, what happened to you?]**

 **[Wait Father, let me explain!]** The Fourth Hokage placated the man, who was apparently his father. **[I didn't have the Gem with me when I died.]**

**[What? Why not?]**

**[I left it back inside the Hokage's office. I didn't think I needed it, seeing as how I was only expecting to have to reinforce Kushina's seal after she gave birth.]** The Fourth Hokage paused upon seeing the blank faces of the other men. **[Ah, Kushina's my wife, for those of you who don't know.]**

 **[Interesting. And that does explain a few things when it comes to my own memories as well.]** The hunter mused. **[I only seem to be able to recall up to the point where I handed the Gem over to Masato.]**

**[So, you have no idea what happened at her birth then?]**

**[Not at all.]** Minato shrugged. **[Though evidently the Fox escaped. How or why, I don't know.]**

"What the heck…" Naruto deflated. So much for getting answers. "Not even the guy who did it knows?"

**[Well, I don't know for certain why I did it, but I could make a guess.]**

"Really?!" Immediately, Naruto got back up. "Then tell me-I mean, us already!"

 **[The Nine-Tailed Fox escaped. That much is certain. And if it did, I assume that it had many repercussions, one of them being that it might've killed my wife.]** Minato grimaced at the thought, but he continued. **[That being so, the Kyūbi must've gone on to attack the nearest source of civilization. In other words, Konohagakure. In order to protect Konoha, the only solution I had to have had at the moment was to seal it within a new vessel. One that was newly-born so that they could grow up acclimating to the Tailed Beast.]**

"And that vessel was me." Naruto frowned. "So, was I just unlucky? Born at the right place, wrong time?"

Naruto's fist clenched. If so, Naruto didn't know what to feel. If all of his suffering up to this point was nothing more than a simple twist of fate, merely just a case of unluckiness-

 **[That's not the case.]** The Fourth Hokage gently smiled. **[Even if I don't know what had happened that day, there's one thing I do know: As the Fourth Hokage, there was no way I would've asked someone to just give up their child's life for me. Not when I know what that child would've had to bear.]**

 **[No, the only thing I would've done was to offer up my own.]** Minato looked straight into Naruto's eyes. **[I am your father, Naruto.]**

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. Did he hear that right? Was his hero, the man he had idolized, his own flesh and blood this entire time?

"I-I…This has to be a dream, right?" That's right, it had to be! Any moment now, he was going to wake up in his bed and all of this talk of family would go away, and-

 **[This isn't a dream, Naruto. This is real. We're real.]** Minato paused. **[Or at least, as real as we can be.]**

It wasn't a dream? That concept seemed so foreign to him right now. The surreality of it all made it seem almost impossible for it to not be one. And yet…Wasn't this what he had wished for all his life? To know who were his family?

"So…You're really my father?" Naruto hesitantly asked, as if afraid everything would disappear in an instant.

 **[As sure as I can possibly be. Your name is one both me and your mother decided upon, after all. It isn't very likely that someone else would have that name, given its origins.]** Minato chuckled to himself, recalling a fond memory.

"I…I don't know what to say." Naruto babbled; his vision blurry from his tears. He hung his head low, not wanting to let his newfound father see him crying. Drops of the salty liquid landed on the pristine table in front of him, forming a minuscule puddle.

 **[This certainly has been an emotional turn of events.]** The green-clad man spoke up, having stayed silent like the rest of the men up till now. **[But he isn't the only one who's related to you here, y'know.]**

"Eh?" Naruto managed to murmur out in between sniffles. Who else could there be?

 **[That's right Naruto! You might not know about me, but I'm your grandfather!]** The grey-haired man boisterously claimed. **[To think that I, Namikaze Itsuki, would be able to see my grandson after I died…Ah, I'm so moved! I was really worried that my son would never find himself a woman!]**

 **[Well, I'm not as moved, but it is still nice to meet you all the same. I'm Namikaze Yuuma. If we were going by the generations, I'd be the Fifth.]** The green-haired man introduced himself, his eyes back to being shut.

 **[Hmph. I'm less than thrilled after seeing you cry so much. Where's your pride as a man huh?!]** The savage spat.

**[Why you! I'm not going to let you talk to my grandson like that, not even if you're the founder of our clan!]**

**[Heh, you wanna go?!]**

**[Bring it!]**

In a burst of speed, the two men got up from their seats and started grappling with one another. Naruto could do nothing but watch speechlessly as his grandfather grappled with the other man.

 **[Ignoring the noisy duo, let's continue the introductions. I'm Namikaze Ryō. I'm the Second in terms of seniority. Speaking of which, that fool from just now is the First, Namikaze Taichi. Despite his appearances and behaviour, my father is the founder of the Namikaze Clan.]** The hunter introduced himself, sighing in disbelief at his father's antics. **[For better or for worse.]**

 **[Hey, I heard that!]** The First shouted. Taking advantage of the distraction, Itsuki threw a punch at Taichi's gut, sending him flying upwards.

Ignoring the indignant cries of the First, Itsuki retook his seat and grinned at Naruto.

 **[Oh right, right. I forgot to tell you, but I'm the Seventh.]** Naruto nodded dumbly, distracted by the sight of Taichi's large build careening back onto the floor. Despite the height at which he had fell, The First's body was none the worse for wear. Naruto couldn't help but wonder how sturdy the man was.

 **[I believe it's my turn then?]** The bespectacled man spoke up. **[I'm Namikaze Shigeru, the Fourth Clan Head. I have several questions regarding your financial situation, but that can wait.]**

 **[Hey there! I'm Namikaze Masato! Have you been able to keep up, Ninth-kun?]** The blonde-haired man, who had greeted him back when he first awoke, introduced himself. **[By the way, I'm the Third! Meaning I'm a whole six generations ahead of you. Ain't that interesting?]**

 **[Speaking of six, I'm the Sixth Clan Head. Name's Namikaze Kentarō.]** The delinquent-looking man folded his arms. **[You look like you can handle yourself in a fight. That's good!]**

 **[Guess I'm the only one left. You already know this, but I'm Namikaze Minato. I'm the Eighth Namikaze Clan Head.]** His father sheepishly scratched his face. **[Though if I were to be honest, I'm not sure if I deserve that title.]**

 **[Now then, I know everyone still has a lot they want to talk about, especially you, Naruto. But it might be for your best interests if we end things here for now. I'm sure there's a lot of information you need to digest, and you still need to have a good night's rest. We can pick things up after you wake up tomorrow. Any objections?]** The Third asked, looking towards the rest of the clan heads.

**[Hmph, do as you wish!]**

**[That's fine for me.]**

**[No objections from me.]**

**[Nor me.]**

**[I'm cool with that.]**

**[I want to talk more with Naruto, but fine.]**

**[I'm fine with it as well.]**

**[Then it's settled.]** The Third turned towards Naruto. **[Sorry, but you're going to have to go back to sleep for now.]**

"B-but there's still so much I wanna know!" Naruto whined. "Why is my name Uzumaki and not Namikaze? Who are the Namikazes in the first place?"

 **[Like the Third said just now, we'll answer your questions tomorrow, alright Naruto?]** Minato smiled. **[For now, you need to rest.]**

Naruto pouted. It wasn't fair! How could anyone expect him to sleep when he had so many questions bouncing around his head. That being said, Naruto knew that protesting their decision was a moot point.

"Fine…" Naruto conceded. "Just…Promise me you'll still be here?"

Minato's smile turned gentler, and he softly placed a hand on his son's head.

**[I promise.]**

Naruto basked in the foreign sensation. It wasn't the first time someone patted his head, but this time felt…different. Naruto chalked it up to it being due to the fact that his father was the one doing it, as opposed to someone like the Third Hokage. Don't get him wrong, he loved the old man with all his heart, for he was the closest thing Naruto had to a parental figure in his life. Up till now that is.

Having decided that he had gotten his fill of affection, Naruto opened his eyes and stood up from his chair.

"Then…I guess I'll be seeing you guys." Naruto reluctantly bid farewell to the group. He turned his back towards them, closing his eyes. He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

"…Er…" Naruto twisted his body to look at the men behind him. "How do I leave?"

The deadpan stares of disappointment he received in return almost hurt. Almost.

* * *

A/N: Well, that concludes this chapter. What did you all think of it? I know that there was a lot of exposition in this one, which might make it seem pretty slow. Hell, over half the chapter was a flashback. I hope it wasn't too info-heavy, but do understand that I needed to get this part out so that I can explain a lot of the questions that were set up in the previous chapter.

I know many more have gone unanswered, but rest assured, I'll try to clear them up in a less boring way in the future. Keyword being try.

That's it from me for now. Thank you all for reading, and I hope to see you all in the next chapter!

~Sul

A/N2: Hopefully these chapters will go over well. Will post the rest if people like it enough.


	3. Encounter

**Chapter 3 - Encounter**

* * *

"I-is something funny, Naruto-kun?" Hinata, upon seeing her crush laugh to himself, asked.

Her heart skipped a bit when he directed his radiant smile towards her. She'd like to think that he was smiling because of her, but she knew that it couldn't possibly be because of that.

"Ahh, something like that. I was just recalling something." The blonde genin replied, his eyes glazing over slightly.

Well whatever it happened to be, Hinata was glad to see him smiling again. She'd seen how down he was back when he first failed the Genin Exams. She really wished she had done something to comfort him, but she just couldn't do it. Even simply talking to him like this made her feel like her heart was about to leap out of her throat in a morbid attempt to offer itself up to Naruto, and that was even after she had spent a few days in close proximity to him.

Oh, curse her shyness! If only she had more courage to approach him. Hinata lamented her own weakness.

"Hinata?" Hinata's head snapped up. "Are you alright? You seem kinda down."

Flustered, the Hyūga girl flailed her arms in embarrassment. "I-I-I'm fine!"

How mortifying. Hinata's face flushed. To think that she would show such an unsightly side of her in front of her crush. She hung her head low in an attempt to hide her blushing face, not wanting Naruto to have even more concerns. She quickened her pace, not taking note of where she was going. Anywhere else was fine, just-

"Hinata, wait!" Hinata gasped as she felt a warm, firm hand grasp onto hers. Upon realizing whose hand, she was holding, her blush increased tenfold.

"N-N-Na-Naruto-kun?!" What should she do, what should she do? Her crush was suddenly holding her hand, as if they were lov-

Just the thought of it alone sent her blush into a fever pitch. She felt as if her brain was melting and steam was rushing out of her ears.

"Are you really okay, Hinata?" Naruto frowned, seemingly deeply concerned about something. "I mean, you almost walked straight into the river."

Huh? Hinata's head swiveled around to the front. To her horror, Naruto was absolutely right. If it wasn't for his timely save, she would surely be drenched by now. She took a couple of steps away from the edge.

"Should I call Kakashi-sensei? Your face is really red after all."

"N-no! I'm fine, I-I just had a lot on my mind, that's all!" Hinata hastily squeaked. From the corner of her eye, she saw her teacher, client, and teammate all approaching from a slight distance away.

Thank goodness Naruto had been walking ahead of them all. She didn't want to know what Kakashi-sensei would've said if he saw how she was behaving.

_Focus, Hinata. You're on a mission!_ She reminded herself. She had been too caught up on the prospects of taking a walk with her crush, that she completely forgot the reason they were here. As a ninja, that wouldn't do. Regaining her bearings, Hinata realized that her blonde teammate was still frowning at her in concern.

"R-really, Naruto. I'm fine now." Hinata mustered her best smile.

"Hmmm…" Naruto stared at her for a while longer, as if thinking of what to say. "Well, if you say so. If you have anything on your mind though, feel free to approach me whenever you want, alright?"

"Eh?" Hinata's mind sped up, trying to comprehend what had been said to her. Naruto wanted her to talk to him? Anytime she wanted? She could feel her blush slowly worming its way back onto her face, but she quashed the feeling with as much effort as she could offer. It wouldn't do good for anyone if she let herself be distracted again.

"If it's f-fine with you."

"Hey, don't worry about it! As your friend, I can't bear to see you down, so don't be afraid to talk to me, okay?" For some reason, Naruto winced. Was he uncomfortable? He was standing at a pretty awkward angle, having to lunge out and grab…her…

Oh.

"Oiiii, are you two lovebirds done over there?" Kakashi-sensei's voice rang out from behind them, having already caught up to the duo.

"N-N-Naruto-kun, um…" Hinata began, not knowing how exactly to word it. "My h-hand…"

"Hm? Oh!" Naruto quickly let go of her hand, a bit too quickly in her opinion. "My bad, my bad."

"N-no, it's fine. You did it to help me, after all."

"Alright then, time to move!" Naruto grinned, resuming his way down the path. Hinata remained on the spot for a while, taking the chance to collect her thoughts.

"Did something happen?" Tazuna asked her, much to her surprise.

"No, not at all." Hinata denied. There was no need to let anyone else know about her misstep.

At least something came out of it though. It was the longest she had ever spoken to Naruto before, as far as she could remember.

_(And hopefully we'll have more and more conversations in the future…)_

Smiling to herself, Hinata assumed a position to Tazuna's right, resuming their journey.

* * *

**[Maaaaan, you really are clueless, huh?]** The Third Generation complained.

**[At this rate, I really fear for the longevity of our bloodline.]** The Fourth Generation agreed.

**[You're the one to talk.]** The Fifth pointed out. What he had meant by that, only the heads from the Fourth Generation onwards seemed to know.

"What are you even talking about?" Naruto whispered under his breath. While he was a distance away from the rest of his team, he still would rather they not hear him talking to himself. "And why the hell did you guys shout in my ear earlier? You made me look weird!"

**[That's because you don't know how to talk to a girl! Choose your words better!]** The First shouted.

**[For once, we agree.]** The Second noted. **[You should've said something more reliable.]**

**[You guys, stop giving my grandson grief! He's still young and learning, its fine if he messes up a bit!]**

_(Not much of a defense there, Seventh…)_ Naruto pouted. Was there something wrong with what he had said? Naruto couldn't think of anything particularly offensive. Maybe it was just his ancestors being weird again.

It did feel a little weird having to refer to his grandfather by his title though. The Third has proposed that they all referred to each other this way to avoid confusion, to which all of his ancestors agreed to.

**[Naruto's lack of tact aside, have you guys noticed something?]** The Eighth spoke up.

**[Oh, you mean that thing?]**

**[I was hoping we'd let Naruto figure it out himself, but I suppose we can't take any chances.]** The Sixth, who had remained silent up till now, sighed.

What were they talking about? But just as he was about to ask them, he was hushed by his father.

**[Naruto, I need you to stay calm.]** The former Hokage started. **[Now, think about the last couple of days. Has it rained at all lately?]**

Rain? Come to think of it, it hadn't? But what did that have to do with anything? He brought a hand up towards the Jewel, looking as if he was merely fiddling with it in boredom. In actuality, he rolled it between his fingers from side to side, as if to shake his head in reply.

**[That's right, it hasn't rained at all. And yet, there's a puddle of water in front of you. Don't look at them!]** Naruto's eyes were just about to flicker towards the aforementioned puddle, but thankfully he managed to catch himself due to his father's prompt warning.

**[That puddle is more than likely a ninja lying in wait. Why they're there, I can't say for sure. For now, keep moving without letting them know that you're aware of them.]** The Eighth continued. **[Try to slow down so that Kakashi and your teammates can catch up. Make up an excuse so that the unknown ninja doesn't get suspicious.]**

(Then what the hell should I do?) It was times like this that he wished he could communicate with his ancestors mentally. Naruto felt a cold sweat begin to form at the back of his head as he wracked his brain for a convincing excuse.

Eventually, he just decided to play up his natural behavior. Turning around on the spot, Naruto waved at his team.

"Oiiiiiii! Hurry up, would ya?! I'm starting to get lonely over here!"

* * *

Loud. That was one of the best words that could describe Sasuke's teammate. That, and annoying too. As the blonde genin continued to wave and holler at them, Sasuke couldn't help but let out a scoff. He would never understand why the Third Hokage had placed the loudmouth of all people in a team with him. He understood Hinata's placement, with her dōjutsu being an undeniable asset, along with her skills in close combat. If she was just able to break out of her shell, then there'll be no denying her usefulness.

Her shyness wasn't even too big of a detriment in his opinion. At the very least, it was directed towards the blonde idiot rather than towards himself, which placed her leagues above most other girls in his cohort.

But the blonde idiot himself? That, Sasuke couldn't see how it would benefit him in the long run. Sure, the boy had his uses. Sasuke had seen before just how hardworking his fellow genin could be, even if said hard work was used towards crafting elaborate pranks in the past. But no amount of hard work could ever surpass the sheer advantage that natural talent provided. Of which Sasuke could confidently say that Naruto had none of.

(His use of the Shadow Clones is a surprise though.) Sasuke stared at the blonde. How he'd managed to get his hands on such a jutsu, Sasuke would never know. At the very least, it meant that his teammate served as a good enough distraction.

Especially right now. Gods above, does this guy ever shut up? Sasuke glanced at his teacher, gauging to see if Kakashi was having a similar reaction.

What he didn't expect to see was how steely the jōnin's gaze was.

Surely the idiot hadn't pissed him off _that_ much, right? As annoying as his teammate was, Sasuke didn't think it warranted such a serious look. It was only until he turned his gaze back to Naruto, that he realized that something was off about the blonde genin. Even though he was talking and acting like this usual obnoxious self, his gaze too was unusually serious. He was looking dead straight towards them, his eyes seemingly trying to make contact with any one of the team.

Eventually, he locked eyes with Sasuke. His eyes seemed to convey a sense of urgency, as Naruto started to mouth something in between shouts.

Pud? Lel? Puddle?

Sasuke frowned. Was he seriously just worried about getting his shoes wet? Puddles shouldn't even be that uncommon, seeing as how it'd…just…rained?

Oh.

Sasuke's eyes scanned the area behind Naruto. It hadn't rained at all these last few days, and yet lo and behold, there was a singular, conspicuous puddle spread behind the blonde genin. That clearly wasn't natural. But just as Sasuke was about to quicken his pace, he felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder.

"Now, now, Naruto, we'll be right there!" Sasuke heard the jōnin shout back, his hand firmly holding Sasuke's shoulder. The silver-haired man turned his gaze towards him.

(So, you noticed it too, huh?) The man's eyes seemed to say as he removed his hand. Sasuke gave a subtle nod, and looked towards the other two in their group. The Hyūga girl seemed just as aware, with her nervously fidgeting with the collar of her jacket, while the old man looked positively worried, but didn't seem to have noticed Naruto's message. Strange.

Filing away his observations for later, Sasuke returned his attention to the still-hollering idiot in front of him. Thankfully, the blonde had decided to run off ahead quite a bit earlier, creating a bit of distance before they reached his position. Said distance was dwindling fast, however. And that meant that any time to plan was dwindling as well.

Let it not be said that Uchiha Sasuke was a man who went into things unprepared. The figurative gears in his brain spinning, Sasuke began to think about what to do once they've crossed the threshold.

In the midst of his planning however, a stray thought did enter his mind.

(Not bad, Naruto.) The Uchiha scion suppressed a smirk. (Not bad at all.)

Maybe this team wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

It took what felt like an eternity for his team to finally catch up with him. With each agonizing moment, Naruto could only think of how his back was literally exposed to the potential threats behind him.

(Ohgodohgodohgod,whatiftheyalreadyknow?) Naruto felt himself start to panic. Naruto knew that he wasn't exactly the most subtle of people, despite his shinobi training. As such, he couldn't shake the fear that whoever was lurking within the puddle was more than aware of his attempts to alert his teammates and was already poised to strike him down. Despite his fears, Naruto continued to shout at his team, half in hopes of getting them to hurry the hell up already, and half in hopes of distracting himself from his thoughts.

His fear must've showed in how he was gripping the Jewel, for he could already hear his ancestors starting to get rowdy.

**[Oi oi oi, don't tell me you're getting scared over something like this? You're a man of my blood, act like it!]** The First sneered. Naruto could tell however, that the savage man was trying to encourage him in his own way.

**[Hey, lay off him already.]** The Sixth frowned. **[From what I've heard, this is his first live combat situation. A little bit of fear is to be expected. Even I was shaking in my boots during my first skirmish!]**

**[Meh, I wasn't even a little bit scared during my first fight!]**

**[That's because you don't have enough of a brain to think about being scared.]** The Second snarkily jumped in.

**[You're damned right I don't!]** The First blinked. **[Wait. That was an insult, wasn't it?!]**

**[Who knows?]**

**[You little brat! You wanna pick a fight with me?! Then let's take this outside!]**

**[We can't go outside, you dolt!]**

The normalcy of his ancestors arguing, as bizarre as that sounds, brought a small bit of comfort to Naruto. It was almost strange how quickly their daily shenanigans became a part of everyday life for him. Feeling his inner panic starting to fade, Naruto watched as his team steadily approached him.

Naruto ran as fast as he could without seeming suspicious towards them.

"Finally decided to catch up, huh slowpokes?" Naruto mustered up a grin. He took a glance at everyone around him. Thankfully, he seemed to have been able to get his message across to his whole team. Sasuke and Hinata both seemed to aware, with Sasuke's hands already reaching for his kunai pouch. Meanwhile, their teacher continued to seem carefree, though Naruto could tell from the sharpness of his gaze that Kakashi was more than ready, but was able to hide it expertly. In contrast, Tazuna seemed unusually quiet, the belligerent drunk man from earlier in the morning being nowhere to be seen.

"So, should we get things started?" Naruto sent a questioning gaze towards Kakashi. (Should I move first?)

In response, Kakashi simply shrugged. "Why not?"

Having been granted approval, Naruto took a deep breath. He mustered up his courage, and sprang into action.

In a swift motion, Naruto dug out a kunai from his pouch and threw it straight at the puddle. As expected, the kunai did not make it all the way, for it was quickly deflected by a claw that sprang out from within the puddle.

Realizing that they're been discovered, the ninja lying in wait dispelled their transformation. Rising up from their respective puddles, were two similarly dressed men with dark brown hair. If not for the difference in their hair and forehead protectors, Naruto might not have been able to tell the difference.

Not wasting a single moment, one of the two ninjas leapt up into the air, a metal chain that was connected between his and his partner's claws following him. The other one dashed forward, moving past Naruto and his teammates. In almost an instant, the two had closed the distance and moved besides Kakashi. Their chain snaked around the silver-haired jōnin, trapping him within their grasp.

"Wha-!" Was all said jōnin could speak before he was promptly torn into shreds in front of the horrified genin.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto didn't understand. Was his warning not enough? Why hadn't Kakashi dodged? As much as he'd like to know, unfortunately Naruto was forced to do without them as he realized the full gravity of the situation he was in.

"The first one." The one horned ninja grinned behind his rebreather. He then seemed to disappear, as if he was never there. Naruto then felt a gust of wind behind him, along with the sensation of two people breathing down his neck.

"The second one." Upon hearing that, Naruto swiveled around only to see the metal chain approaching him.

(If I get caught up in that, I'm toast!) Naruto gritted his teeth as he attempted to propel himself to the side in an attempt to dodge the deadly links of metal.

"Naïve!" One of the ninjas shouted, sweeping his claw hand to the side, chain following soon after. The sound of chains clinking grew ever closer to Naruto as he could only watch in horror while in mid-step.

His untimely demise was avoided however, when the chains were caught by a shuriken, which embedded itself onto a nearby tree. A kunai came soon after, pinning the shuriken - and by proxy, the chains – firmly into the tree.

The two ninja tried to move forward, tugging at the trapped chain to no avail. But before they could break free, a blue blur landed on their claws. Naruto watched in surprise as Sasuke kicked both ninjas in the face.

Undeterred by his appearance, the two disconnected their claws from the chain, freeing them and allowing them to regain their footing. The single-horned one side-stepped past Naruto, dashing towards Hinata and Tazuna, leaving the dual-horned ninja alone to deal with both Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration. Was he really that weak? Right now, even his enemies were ignoring him! Just what had all his effort up to this point been for?

No. He wouldn't let things end like this. Not after all he's been through. He couldn't afford to fail here.

A shout from Hinata asking Tazuna to step back broke Naruto out from his thoughts. From the corner of his eye, he could see the single-horned ninja rapidly approaching his teammate and client.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, throwing a few shuriken towards the dual horn to distract him. "I can take this guy, go help Hinata!"

Sasuke paused, clearly hesitating. As much as Naruto hated his guts, he couldn't blame him after his previous performance.

"Sasuke." Naruto tilted his head slightly to look at the Uchiha. "Trust me."

Whether or not Sasuke actually trusted him, Naruto didn't know, but the result was the same either way. Giving a curt nod, Sasuke dashed towards his other teammate.

Naruto turned his attention back onto the enemy before him. He clenched his fists in an attempt to quell his nervousness.

It was do or die. Time to prove himself worthy of being a Namikaze.

* * *

"Hahaha, do you really think you can take me, Meizu of the Demon Brothers, on? After what just happened?" The Mist ninja taunted, clicking his claw menacingly. Meizu took pleasure in seeing the tension in the blonde genin's body, knowing that he'll be easy prey.

The brat had been so easily cowed earlier when he saw his teacher get torn into meaty shreds. Him showing a brave face to his teammate was just that, a façade. He couldn't possibly hope to defeat an experienced chunin like Meizu.

The brat in question deigned not to reply, instead bringing up his hands to form a cross.

" **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!** " In multiple puffs of smoke, several copies of Naruto spread out around Meizu, with Naruto himself dashing among them, using the smoke to help disguise his movements. Suddenly surrounded, the rogue ninja eyed the multiple blondes around him.

It was almost pitiful how the genin thought such a cheap trick could work against him.

Almost.

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are." Meizu suddenly lunged forward towards one of the clones. "I'll just have to slice them all!"

Meizu's claw swept through a couple of clones, instantly dispelling them. But before he could wind up for another strike, a kick to his back sent him stumbling forwards. Seizing this opening, Naruto's clones charged at the rogue ninja, intent on piling onto him. Unfortunately for them, Meizu recovered quickly, and in a flurry of motion, he cut through a good deal of the clones. His attacks eventually found purchase in the real one's flesh, managing to deal a glancing blow on Naruto's side. A drop of blood fell onto the ground beneath them, proof of the injury inflicted.

Realizing that they can't beat him in close combat, the blonde genin and his clones spread out once more. More clones came into existence, sending up plumes of smoke. Steel sang through the air as kunai and shuriken were flung out from the smoke towards Meizu, who was more than ready for the approaching storm of steel. Meizu ducked, weaved, and repelled the thrown weapons with the grace of a veteran shinobi, scattering the blades all across the ground.

"That all?" The rogue ninja taunted once more, assured in his victory over the blonde genin.

The genin in question could do naught but grit his teeth in frustration. Sending his clones charging once more, Naruto dashed forward and brandished a kunai. Meizu scoffed, and swiftly tore through the clones with a large forward sweep, leaving only the original charging towards him.

A scream tore through the orange-clad youth's lips as he charged headlong towards his opponent, one that was promptly cut short as the rogue ninja's claw pierced through his chest. Meizu smirked beneath his rebreather. All too easy. The kid made a decent attempt, but he was ultimately no match for someone of his caliber. Now to rejoin his brother. Knowing him, he has more than likely already finished off the other 2, but that doesn't mean Meizu shouldn't wrap this up quickly.

Just as he was about to pull his claw free from the boy's chest, Naruto's hand grasped weakly against the cold steel, slowly lifting his head to look at Meizu.

And then he grinned.

Meizu's eyes widened as the blonde boy he had effortlessly impaled upon his claws disappeared in a puff of smoke, much like many of the clones before him. Confused and flustered, Meizu spun around frantically, scanning his surrounding for his opponent. He didn't need to search long, for he soon felt a searing pain in his abdomen. Shifting his gaze downwards, his eyes locked with the bright blue orbs of a grinning blonde. Said blonde had lodged one of his kunai deep within Meizu's stomach, causing crimson liquid to come pooling out from the wound.

(Tenacious little shit!) Growling, Meizu swiped downwards on the genin's head, intent on finally landing the killing blow, only for his efforts to be met with yet another puff of smoke. This time, the pain came from his back, and while Meizu wasn't able to view the wound, he had no doubt that it was the work of yet another clone.

Where were they all coming from?! Meizu's anger only grew as he landed a firm blow on the clone behind him. It was only when a few more sprung out from the ground that he finally knew what was going on.

(He transformed his clones into kunai and shuriken, and then hid them within the real ones?) To think that Meizu had fallen for such an elementary trick! He had to finish this quickly, otherwise his brother would never let him hear the end of it. The wounds he had received were lessons enough.

Rushing towards the clones once more, Meizu brandished his claw and swiped at the clones, only for them to dodge the attack. Meizu continued to strike, whipping around with his claw in a frenzy of attacks, and yet unlike before, his attacks found no purchase.

He started to grow apprehensive. Had the boy gotten faster than before?

Indeed, the clones rushed at him with speed unlike anything he had seen before from the blonde, each one of them being an orange blur that his eyes could barely track. They darted in and out of his range, occasionally using the surrounding trees as springboards, each leaving a parting slice with their blades. Suddenly forced on the defensive, Meizu backpedaled while trying to ward off the orange pests, though to no avail as gashes started appearing all across his body.

A strangled cry brought his attention away from his fight and towards Gozu's. Meizu froze, hardly believing his eyes. His brother was slumped over unconscious within the arms of the silver-haired jōnin that they had killed just moments ago. Said jōnin looked no worse for wear, though the same couldn't be said about his two students who were considerably roughened up.

"Brother!" Meizu cried, preparing to dash towards the jōnin in an attempt to rescue his brother. Mission be damned, he wasn't about to forsake his only living family member to whatever fate the jōnin might've had in store for him. If he could just get them both out safe-

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Meizu's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of his opponent in front of him. Meizu tried to bring up his claw, but Naruto rushed forward at a blinding speed, and punched him with as much force as he could muster. Meizu choked on his own spit as he was sent flying backwards. He felt his head crack against the trunk of a tree, and soon his world faded into utter darkness.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed at sight of the silver-haired jōnin. "Man, I thought you were a goner!"

Kakashi couldn't help but smirk underneath his facemask. To fool the enemy, one must first fool their allies.

(And besides,) Kakashi looked towards his loudmouthed student, who was currently making his way towards his teammates. (It was a good opportunity to see how'd you all fare in combat.)

And they all performed spectacularly, considering the fact that it was their first live combat situation. Kakashi hefted up the body tucked under his arms with ease, and he started to walk towards Naruto.

"Sorry I didn't help you right away." Kakashi casually apologized. "But it looked like the three of you had it handled."

"But maaaan, you had me worried there for a sec." Naruto complained. "I should've guessed that you'd use a Substitution Jutsu though."

"Maybe so. But it serves as a good lesson for all of you." Kakashi dumped Gozu's body next to his brother's, and pulled out a length of rope from within his backpack. "I managed to escape unharmed because I was aware of my surroundings. Even a jōnin could fall to a chunin if caught unawares. You'd do well to remember that."

"Well, in a way it was thanks to you though." Kakashi, having finished tying up the two rogue ninja, turned around. "While I'm sure I would've noticed their presence once we reached the puddle, you did a good job of alerting us without raising suspicion to yourself."

"Eheheh." Naruto grinned. "I just did what I thought would seem natural."

"And that was good work." Kakashi nodded. "In fact, you all did great for your first battle."

At his words, the three genin -even Sasuke- perked up. Kakashi couldn't blame them, seeing as how they had just gone through a harrowing experience for any genin. It wouldn't hurt to compliment them once in a while like this either.

"Hinata, while you were understandably nervous for your first battle, you made a sound decision in immediately moving to guard your client. That responsiveness will serve you well in the future." Hinata flushed under the praise, a demure smile making its way onto her lips.

"Sasuke, you managed to protect your teammate while he was still dazed. Not only that, you proceeded to keep your cool and made the decision to trust Naruto to handle the situation instead of doing things on your own." Kakashi nodded at the Uchiha scion. "It seems my lessons on teamwork have taken root as well. You coordinated well with Hinata to repel your opponent long enough for me to step in."

"Hn." In typical Sasuke fashion, the black-haired boy grunted upon hearing the praise, though Kakashi could see a self-satisfied smirk forming.

"And last but not least, Naruto." Kakashi turned towards the blonde genin. "To be perfectly honest, you impressed me the most. Not only did you notice a potential threat, you managed to convey that threat to your teammates in an unorthodox, yet effective way. And even though Sasuke need to save you, you still got back on your feet and made a good decision in prioritizing Hinata's well-being as well as your client's by sending Sasuke to assist her, instead of making him stay with you. Furthermore, you managed to defeat a superior opponent by outsmarting him, instead of running headfirst into danger like I thought you would've."

Naruto's grin was positively radiant, the blonde genin glowing under the praise.

"Oh yeah, who's awesome? I'm awesome!" He cheered, pumping his fist into the air energetically.

"However!" Kakashi interrupted, causing Naruto to pause mid-cheer. "You were also extremely lucky this time. Not only did you expose your back against an unknown opponent, but you could very well have done the opposite of what you were trying to achieve when you were warning us. What would you have done if they had been more suspicious of you and attacked you while your back was turned?"

Naruto's grin faded, his previous cheer fading along with it. Kakashi eyed the blonde, before continuing his lecture.

"Furthermore, you took an even greater risk in taking on Meizu alone. What if you weren't strong enough to defeat him? You would've brought more harm than good if he had managed to kill you." Kakashi started to slowly walk over to Naruto. "Your death would not only mean that they'd have to deal with the grief of losing a teammate, but you'd have also given your team the burden of fighting with only two people. Instead of facing the enemy alone, you could've trusted your teammates more and worked together to defeat your opponents. If you go down, the team goes down with you. Remember that."

Kakashi stopped in front of Naruto, who now had his eyes downcast like a reprimanded child. Perhaps he really was one, depending on how you viewed the situation. However, that didn't prevent Kakashi from laying his hand on Naruto, or his head to be precise.

"But that's all just hypothetical." Kakashi ruffled his student's hair. "You managed to pull off a win and removed a risk to your team and client, and I couldn't be prouder. Just make sure to work more as a team next time, or you'll be as good as dead."

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto's breath hitched. A small, unsteady smile worked its way across his face.

"Well, all in all, good job everyone." Kakashi addressed all three of his students, giving his signature eye-smile. "I didn't know what to expect when I took you three on, but it seems that I won't have anything to worry about."

"By the way, Tazuna-san." Kakashi said, startling the bridge builder, who had remained suspiciously silent up till now. "You have some explaining to do."

Tazuna froze under the sharp gaze Kakashi was giving him. Beads of cold sweat started to form around his head.

He couldn't deny the truth any longer. Not when proof was lying just a few feet away from him.

Reluctantly, Tazuna began to speak.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaaand that's all, folks! How did you all find this chapter? Finally some action, amirite? But really though, I'd love to hear some feedback, especially on the fight scene. Fight scenes have never really been my forte, and while I'd like to think that my skills have improved since my Infinite Possibilities days, I'm still can't help but feel a bit apprehensive when writing this one. Hopefully it wasn't too bad.**

**Also, I hoped you all like the changes from canon that I've put in. Obviously with Hinata taking the place of Sakura, there's bound to be some changes in how the team dynamic is like, and while I know that I didn't manage to show that here, rest assured that I'll do my best to convey that in the following chapters. But this note is getting a bit too long already, so I'll leave it at that.**

**Until the next chapter, which will probably be in a week or two.**

**Sul~**


	4. The Demon of the Mist

**Chapter 4 -The Demon of the Mist**

* * *

"Whoa!" Naruto couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as the boat rocked slightly in the water. He'd never ridden on a boat before, so the experience was really novel to him. He peered forward into his murky surroundings, the mist obscuring almost everything.

(At least I can still see inside the boat.) Naruto glanced backwards at his fellow teammates. Hinata was nervously glancing around her surroundings, while Sasuke, whose face seemed relaxed, had his body poised to move at any given moment. At the back, sat Kakashi and Tazuna, while the ferryman - who owned the boat they were riding in - rowed them forward.

**[Keh, this is some insane fog!]** The First complained. **[How is anyone supposed to see anything out here?]**

**[As much as I hate to agree with you, this really is something.]** The Second mused. **[I'm used to a bit of mist when hunting, but even my eyes can't make out too much.]**

Naruto was inclined to agree with them. As he peered within the mist once more, Naruto couldn't help but idly think back as to what had happened before.

* * *

**-A day ago-**

"Well, since we need to treat Naruto's wound, shall we go back to the village?"

Naruto gritted his teeth as he clutched at the wound he had received in his previous bout with Meizu. How was he supposed to know that the claws were poisoned? While he had avoided most injuries, there was no denying that a single scratch like the one he had on his hand probably meant that the poison was well on its way to spreading throughout his body.

"Y-yes! We need to get him treated quickly!" Hinata panicked. While Naruto appreciated the sentiment, he couldn't help but feel a bitter taste in his mouth. How could he let it all end here, after he finally managed to get a higher-ranking mission? Especially if it meant that it was his fault that they couldn't go on?

Sure, there was the fact that Tazuna had lied about the mission. That much was true, seeing as how the man himself had confessed everything about his situation. But that made him even less willing to give up.

Hearing about the situation in Tazuna's hometown made Naruto's blood boil. And while it was entirely possible that Tazuna was lying to gain sympathy, Naruto didn't think that was the case. Between the desperation in his voice as Tazuna explained his reasons for falsifying the details of his mission and the way he was currently staring despondently at the ground; Naruto didn't believe that the old bridge-builder was lying.

But he needed to get the poison out. Guess there was only one thing to do.

Naruto fished out a kunai from his pouch, and sank it into his hand with a sickening squelch. Naruto ignored the horrified gasp from Hinata, and instead looked at Kakashi dead in the eye.

"This'll get the poison out, right Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto grinned, trying his hardest to ignore the searing pain in his hand as he pulled out the kunai. "I-I can't just stand idly by after hearing what's going on in that old man's town. That's why I won't let myself be the only thing preventing him from saving his country! I refuse to let that be the reason!"

Blood trickled down his hand as he slowly clenched it and brought it forward in front of him. "I swear upon the pain in this hand, I will protect you!

Naruto grinned past the pain at Tazuna. "The mission continues!"

"That's all well and good, Naruto." Kakashi drawled, staring flatly at him. "But you're going to bleed to death if you keep going."

…

Eh? Naruto slowly turned his head to look at his bleeding wound. As he gazed into the gaping puncture he had carved within himself, Naruto started to pale. Had he overdone it?

"Things are going to get seriously bad if you don't stop the bleeding, y'know." Kakashi slid up next to the panicking blonde.

"GAAAAAH! No way, no way, things can't end like this!" Naruto screamed as he flailed about.

**[Pfffft! AHAHAHA that's a good one!]** The First boisterously laughed. **[That's a real Namikaze man right there! We're known for our wildness!]**

**[That was never the case! And besides, you're not wild, you're just an idiot!]** The Second countered.

**[Okay, that's it! Come here you unfilial child, I'm tossing you outside!]**

**[Like I mentioned earlier, we can't go outside, you dumbass!]**

He was about to die, the least they could do was to shut up or provide some advice, dammit!

* * *

Naruto sighed, remembering the panic he felt the day before. While Kakashi had assured him that he would be fine after patching him up, Naruto couldn't help but still feel a bit of apprehension. He really wasn't looking forward to dying, not when he hasn't even gotten close to achieving his dream.

Man, screw those Mist ninjas. Naruto took a small pleasure knowing that the two were tied to a tree, stuck waiting until reinforcements from Konoha came to take them into custody.

**[Something bothering you?]** Naruto heard the Sixth ask. He prompted rolled the Jewel in between his fingers to say no.

**[That so?]** The Sixth replied, seemingly unconvinced. **[Well, either way, you should lend me and Pops-I mean, the Fifth your ear for a sec.]**

Oh? His curiosity piqued, Naruto tapped the Jewel once, signaling for the Sixth to continue.

**[I'll be frank, you were very lucky to have us around earlier.]** The Fifth started. **[Had your father not decided to point out those Mist ninjas' presence, you could've easily had a much tougher time.]**

As much as it frustrates him, Naruto couldn't deny that. He hadn't noticed the lurking threat at all. He'd shudder to think what might've happened if the Eight hadn't alerted him.

**[Well, it was your first battle, so I suppose I can't be too harsh.]** The Fifth sighed. **[Still, we can't have that happening again, now can we?]**

**[That's why the Fifth and I decided that it's time you tried using our Skills. Well, mostly the Fifth's, but mine works really well with his.]** The Sixth added.

New Skills? Hell yeah! Naruto eagerly shook the Jewel forward, waiting for the two ex-clan heads to continue.

**[First off, is my Skill:** _ **[Map]**_ **. As the name implies, it allows the user to see a map of their surroundings. It's all in your head too, so you won't have to worry about enemy spies gaining information through your** _ **[Map]**_ **either.]** The Fifth started to explain.

**[Furthermore, not only does it map out the surrounding surface area, but it works on interiors as well. With this, you can easily discover hidden buildings, and even understand its layout immediately.]**

"Hmhm." Naruto nodded along as he listened to the Fifth's explanation. It sounded like a neat ability.

**[As for me, mine is** _ **[Search]**_ **. It allows the user to discover the position of any enemy or trap in your vicinity. The best part is when you use it at the same time as** _ **[Map]**_ **. Mixed together, the two Skills become a map that can accurately show you where your enemies at any given moment. Not even Genjutsu can fool you, unless they're somehow aware of these two Skills.]** The Sixth continued on from his father's explanation. **[The only downside is that they're a constant drain on your chakra as long as you have them active. But still, pretty amazing right?]**

"Hmhm." Naruto nodded again. This Skill sounded pretty neat as well.

But…

"I've kinda been wondering for a while now, but…" Naruto whispered as softly as he could, not wanting to let his team hear him talking to himself. "Is everyone's Skill just, y'know…All this kind of support-ish stuff? Don't you all have something flashier?"

His questions were met with a period of awkward silence. None of the ancestors spoke; not even the First, who would usually be the first person to jump in.

**[Well…]**

**[I blame the First.]**

**[As do I.]**

**[Same here.]**

**[No arguments here.]**

**[He's the one at fault!]**

**[Ahahahah.]**

(Even you, dad?) Naruto couldn't help but deadpan as he heard everyone's replies. As for the man they were blaming…

**[What the hell is up with that attitude! You dissatisfied or something? Surely none of you can claim that my Skill didn't come in handy!]** The barbarian-looking First raged indignantly.

**[Well, it is true that it's technically your fault that we all have Support Skills.]** The Third explained. **[If you had bought a Red or Yellow Gem, we would've all had different Skills.]**

**[It's not my fault dammit! I wanted a Red one too y'know! But I could only afford a Blue one at the time, so that's what you lot were stuck with!]** The First lamented.

Red, Blue, and Yellow? Naruto didn't know what any of that meant. He tapped the Jewel once in hopes that someone would explain things to him.

Thankfully, the Eighth quickly understood. **[Ah, you didn't have anyone to teach you about these things, did you Naruto? The gist of it is that Skills are separated into three different types: Vanguard, Rearguard, and Support. They are represented by the colors red, yellow, and blue respectively. And since ours is a blue one, we all ended up manifesting Support Skills.]**

So that's the reason? Naruto couldn't help but feel a shred of disappointment. Did that mean that even his would be a Support-type?

His disappointment must've shown, for the Third spoke to him. **[You look dissatisfied. Support was all the rage back in my time though.]**

**[Really? The current era favors high-powered Rearguard Skills though.]** The Eighth pointed out.

**[Wait, what? In my time, it was Vanguard and Support. Getting a Rearguard Skill was considered unfortunate.]** The Seventh said, utterly perplexed.

**[Does it just change by the times? In my time, Support was thought of as bad luck.]** The Second asked.

In the end, it was the First – of all people – who got the derailing conversation back on track.

**[Ahhh! Enough!]** The red-haired Namikaze shouted. **[Since it's come down to this, I might as well show you how good Support Skills can be! You still have some time before you reach the shore, so come in the Jewel for a bit.]**

"What for?" Naruto whispered. While it was true that they were likely a distance away from reaching shore, Naruto didn't like the idea of going into the Jewel and being unaware of what's going on outside.

**[Don't sweat the small details, just hurry up and get your ass in here!]**

It probably wasn't worth it to argue with the First. With that in mind, Naruto reluctantly closed his eyes.

* * *

"Woaaaah…" Naruto gasped as he looked at the room around him. Well, it was less of a room and more of a hut. Regardless, it wasn't something Naruto had expected to see when the First dragged him away immediately after he had arrived inside the Jewel's conference room.

Having been shoved through the door standing behind the First's seat, Naruto now found himself face to face with a grinning barbarian. Said barbarian was looking around the room as well, nodding to himself in self-satisfaction.

**[Ah, nothing beats being at home.]** The First grinned. **[Don'tcha think so too?]**

At that, Naruto could only give an awkward smile. He supposed if he looked hard enough, the multiple animal pelts strewn across the walls and floor did give the place a certain…flair.

**[Well, nevermind that for now.]** The red-haired Namikaze crossed his arms as he sat down on the one of the many pelts on the ground.

**[I know that the whole deal with Skills and such is still pretty new to you, so I'll give you a further explanation. What do you remember from before?]**

"Hmmm...Skills are generally one per person, right?"

**[You're not wrong in that regard. It definitely starts as a single Skill. Especially when it comes to learning it through a Gem. Normally you'd only be able to use Skills at their most basic states. Maybe a bit beyond that if you're talented. However, in your case, you have us around to teach you.]**

So it usually wasn't possible to draw out the full potential of a Skill that's been recorded by a Gem?

It was a good thing that the Jewel seemed to play by different rules then, Naruto noted.

**[You've already managed to use the Fourth's Skill, so you should be able to handle mine as well. It's a great one, I'll have you know!]** The First grinned.

The First then abruptly stood and made to exit the hut that they were in, stretching out as he did so.

**[But instead of just telling you about it, I'm going do things more my style!]**

"And that is?" Naruto asked with apprehension. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about all this.

**[Why, I'm glad you asked, kiddo!]** The First started to crack his knuckles, his grin taking on a more ominous tone. **[I'm gonna pound it into you! You should be grateful!]**

Oh, was that it? Naruto let out a sigh of relief. Learning something through action seemed like something more his style anyway. Naruto returned his ancestor's grin with one of his own.

"Oh yeah? Then let's do this!" Naruto leapt up from the floor. "How hard can it be anyway?"

Not a few minute later, Naruto's screams filled the air.

* * *

"Oi, we're here." Sasuke lightly shoved the sleeping blonde, jostling him awake. How he'd managed to fall asleep at a time like this, Sasuke would never know.

"Wha-Oh, it's you." Naruto muttered sleepily. "What's going on?"

"We're here." Sasuke curtly repeated himself. Geez, why did he have to get stuck with having to wake the resident idiot up?

Oh right, because the Hyūga girl was too shy to approach Naruto, and Kakashi would rather someone else do it than doing it himself.

"Hurry up." Sasuke sighed. The sooner his blonde teammate joined the rest of the team, the sooner Sasuke wouldn't need to babysit him anymore.

"O-oh yeah, sure." Naruto replied distractedly.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed. The blonde idiot seemed to still be out of it, and he even looked a little pale. Was it a lingering effect from the poison?

Sasuke couldn't help but ask. Not out of concern for Naruto, mind you, but because he'd rather not have to carry him all the way back to Konoha.

Thankfully, Naruto seemed to snap out of whatever funk he was in.

"Nah, I'm good! Let's get this show on the road!" The blonde bounced out of the tethered boat, his feet landing on the wood of the dock with a loud thud.

Sasuke watched as Naruto ran forward, catching up to the Kakashi and co. He shrugged to himself. Whatever was up with the idiot, it wasn't his problem.

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why the blonde had looked so shaken when he woke up though.

* * *

Aside from the sound of their feet on the ground, Team Seven and Tazuna remained silent as they walked through the forest. Apparently Tazuna's home was a distance away from the port town that they had alighted at, so taking this route was necessary.

Naruto didn't like the silence one bit. Silence meant that he didn't have anything to distract him from what had happened earlier with the First.

He grimaced at the thought. For all his hubris at the start, there was only one way to describe how his impromptu training session had went:

Utter destruction.

It was the first time Naruto had faced such a crushing defeat. And if he were to be perfectly honest, he never wanted to go through that again.

**[See what I mean? You scarred the poor boy for life!]** He heard the Seventh shout.

**[C-C'mon now, it was just a bit of tough love!]** The First replied defensively.

**[Tough love? We could hear him scream from our own rooms!]**

**[So I may have gone a little overboard…]**

A little overboard?

A LITTLE OVERBOARD?!

If that was the First's idea of a little overboard, Naruto shuddered to think how his ancestor would be like if he was completely serious. The man created small craters whenever he struck for crying out loud! Swords weren't meant to be able to do that, last he checked.

His sentiments seemed to be shared by the Second, for he soon jumped in.

**[Your idea of "a little overboard" is so skewed, I can hardly believe it.]** The Second sighed. **[I bet you've never heard of moderation in your entire life.]**

**[Oh, don't you start!]** The First fumed at his son.

Noticing that the two were about to start bickering once more, Naruto started to tune out his ancestors' chatter. He had grown slightly adept at it after the first couple of weeks since he first obtained the Jewel. He had to, otherwise he might've gone a little insane with how much all the ancestors spoke.

At least there wasn't ever a dull moment.

Shaking his head in an attempt to focus, Naruto thought back to his current situation. While he had been asleep, Tazuna had apparently filled the rest of his team with more details about the situation in his country.

Apparently, the man who was targeting him was a CEO of a large shipping company by the name of Gatō. He had been forcefully taking over the Land of Waves by monopolizing all of the island nation's shipping and maritime transportation. Because of this, it slowly strangled the life out of the Land of Wave as Gatō managed to gain control over the very livelihoods of its people.

Furthermore, he started bringing in more and more of his hired crooks all in the name of furthering his illicit business ventures such as contraband and drugs. There were even reports of him hiring ninja to do his bidding, which - if the Demon Brothers had been any indication – was very true.

Naruto clenched his fist at the thought of facing more people like Gozu and Meizu. Would he be able to handle the next shinobi sent after them? Or the next?

Or worse, what if the next one was as strong as the First? Naruto prided himself for having a lot of guts to rise up to any challenge (or at least he liked to think so), but after having been so soundly defeated by the First, he wondered if he'd be able to deal with such an opponent anytime soon.

Naruto glanced around the foliage surrounding them as they walked. What if such an opponent was lying in wait right now, just like Gozu and Meizu had? He couldn't help but worry over the possibility.

That was when he recalled that he had just the thing to allay his fears.

Naruto sucked in a deep breath as he called upon the knowledge that the Jewel provided him.

_[Map]_

True to the Fifth's words, a map soon appeared within Naruto's mind. It was a strange experience truth be told, for it was as if Naruto had committed a map of the area to memory. However, he knew for a fact that he had never been here before. How could he have, seeing as he had never left the village prior to this mission?

Putting the novel experience aside, Naruto examine the map. It "looked" just about the same as any other map that Naruto had seen, though he did note that he was able to "move" the map around in his mind.

However, Naruto knew that just having the map alone wouldn't help him detect any hidden threats. And so, Naruto focused.

_[Search]_

All of a sudden, blue blips started to appear on Naruto's _[Map]_. Naruto could only assume that the largest one represented himself, while the smaller ones represented his team. He couldn't help but be amazed as he saw the blue blips move in sync with his own position as he continued to walk down the trail.

(I don't think I should keep this up for too long though.) Naruto could already feel the steady drain on his chakra reserves. Using a single Skill already took a good amount of his chakra. Now that he was maintaining two at the same time, the usage was multiplied.

Deciding to make haste, Naruto scanned through the map once more, now aided by the effects of _[Search]_.

What was it that the Sixth had told him to look out for again?

Oh right, red blips, like the one next…to…him.

"Over there?!" Naruto exclaimed as he threw a kunai into the bushes, startling both his team and Tazuna.

They all watched with bated breath, waiting for someone to emerge from within the foliage.

When the bushes started to rustle, all the ninja in the group started to ready themselves for combat. The bushes rustled once more, and revealed their next opponent:

A fluffy white rabbit.

**[KILL IT! KILL IT AT ONCE!]** For some reason, the First, Second, and Third heads immediately screamed bloody murder upon seeing the rabbit.

**[What are you monsters saying?!]** The Fifth yelled out in a rare fit of rage. **[How could you suggest doing such a thing to a poor, defenseless rabbit?!]**

**[Poor, defenseless rabbit? Open your eyes for once! That's a horned rabbit dammit! Do you have any idea how much trouble those things caused me?]** The Second yelled back.

**[Destroying crops, ruining fields, breaking through fences, there's no limit to how much damage these things can cause!]** The First raged. **[Exterminate it immediately, Naruto! There can be no sympathy for their ilk!]**

Even the Third, who was normally aloof, spoke with malice dripping from every word.

**[Ahahaha…Naruto, here's some advice for you. To protect your fields, leaving even a single one alive is too much. Rejoice, Naruto! You get to kill your first monster, and the farmers in this land won't have their fields ravaged. It's a win-win scenario for everyone!]**

**[Aren't you guys exaggerating a bit too much? It's not like it's going to assault you or anything, not unless you provoke them.]** The Fifth said in defense of the rabbit.

The rage boiling within the first three Namikaze clan heads were so palpable, it was almost amazing.

**[Oh, I get it now. You find them cute, don't you? I have to admit, when I see their soft and fluffy fur, I do get the urge to** _**peel it all off** _ **!]**

**[Right, no mercy for these creatures!]**

**[Hahaha…Search~ and Destroy~!]**

Deciding that they were a lost cause, the Fifth turned to Naruto.

**[Don't screw with me! Naruto, if there's one thing you ever need to learn from us, it's to not grow up to be like them. Nobles shouldn't act like this!]**

(Are they about done?) Naruto complained in his head. It was times like this where he wished he could communicate with them through his mind rather than having to speak out loud.

He really didn't understand where the First and co. were coming from. How could one hold so much hatred for rabbits?

Speaking of which, the poor thing looked absolutely terrified as it shivered in place. A single, tiny horn jutted out from between its ears, which Naruto hadn't seen on a rabbit before. He supposed it was why they were called horned rabbits, but he honestly couldn't see the tiny mammal doing any sort of damage. At least, not to the extent that his ancestors were claiming.

"Hey brat! Don't do anything confusing!" Tazuna shouted at Naruto. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Were you really that scared of a rabbit?" Sasuke scoffed.

"T-that! I could've sworn that there was a presence there!" Naruto defended himself.

Now that he thought about it, there was something off about all this. He was sure that _[Search]_ had indicated an enemy. Did it give a wrong reading? Naruto didn't really want to doubt the Skill of his ancestor though. Then was it perhaps his own inexperience? Or paranoia?

Having canceled the Skills earlier in all the confusion, Naruto started to bring _[Map]_ and _[Search]_ up once more.

* * *

(The infamous Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi…No wonder the Demon Brothers couldn't carry out their mission.) Zabuza observed the group of Konoha ninja from above. He tightened his grip on his trusty sword, Kubikiribōchō.

This mission could get messy. He certainly didn't expect the bridge-builder to be able to bring back a shinobi of his caliber.

In the end, it was nothing he couldn't handle though. He'd fought too many battles to get where he was now, and if he ever wanted to achieve his dream, he had many more battles to come. He couldn't afford to fail here.

(Now's not the time for that.) Zabuza shook his head to clear his thoughts.

There'd be time for dreaming later.

In one swift motion, Zabuza leapt while throwing his sword. It was a practiced motion that he had performed many times, often on unsuspecting ninja that were sent to hunt him down. How ironic that they were the ones who ended up hunted.

Much like the unfortunate individuals he had decapitated before, Zabuza was expecting that he'd be able to at least strike down one of the genin, or if he was lucky, his target. The infamous Copy Ninja would undoubtedly be able to save at least one or two of the kids, but he would cross that bridge when he got there.

What he didn't expect however, was for one of the genin to spin around to look directly at him just as his blade left his grip.

* * *

"Everybody down!"

Upon hearing the blonde genin's warning, the small group's confusion quickly turned into surprise when they followed his gaze to see a large object hurtling towards them. They immediately ducked down, causing the sword to fly past them and embed itself into the trunk of a nearby tree. A figure soon landed on top of its handle, his back turned while he glared menacingly at them.

Naruto started to feel cold sweat start to form as the two parties were at a standoff, neither moving an inch for what felt like ages.

**[That sword!]** He heard his father exclaim in shock. **[That's one of Kirigakure's famed Seven Swords! But what is it doing here in the hands of a rogue ninja?]**

"Seven Swords?" Naruto couldn't help but mutter. He had somewhat of an inkling as to what his father was referring to, but the details escaped him. Besides, there were much more pressing matters at hand.

Whatever was the case, that meant that the black-haired man glaring down at them was probably a big deal. Much more so than the Demon Brothers.

Unconsciously, Naruto clenched his fists. This mission was proving to be one huge trial after another.

He found himself slightly relieved when his teacher decided to break the silence.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Demon of the Mist himself, Momochi Zabuza!" the jōnin said as he casually took a couple of steps forward.

"All of you step back." Kakashi ordered while keeping his eye firmly locked on the rogue ninja.

"But!" Naruto started to protest, but was interrupted when Kakashi's hand shot forward protectively.

"He's on a whole other level than the guys you fought the other day." The silver-haired jōnin warned. He then moved his hand towards his headband, shocking the genin trio.

**[So, he's going to use** _ **that**_ **.]** He heard the Eighth mutter. What was he talking about? What was his teacher about to do?

"I assume you're Kakashi of the Sharingan." Zabuza said, finally breaking his silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw a look of shock come over Sasuke's face as the Uchiha heir turned to look at their teacher. Naruto didn't know what caused such a reaction in the usually stoic teen, nor did he know what Zabuza meant by Sharingan.

"Sorry, but…" the swordsman began. "I'll have to ask you to hand over that old man."

"Get into formation, you guys." Kakashi calmly ordered the genin. "Protect Tazuna, and don't get involved in this fight."

"B-but that's-" Naruto heard Hinata speak up, before she was promptly interrupted by Kakashi.

"That's what teamwork is in this situation." The silver-haired man then started to slowly pull up his headband that had been covering his left eye. Naruto watched with bated breath as Kakashi revealed a crimson eye with what seemed to be dots circling the center of it.

(W-what the hell is that?) Naruto asked himself in shock. He had never seen anything like it before, and he sure as hell didn't expect Kakashi to be hiding something as unusual as that behind his forehead protector.

"Oh? I didn't expect to see the rumored Sharingan so soon…" Zabuza said as he finally turned to face them. "I'm honored, really."

"But don't think such a thing will save you from me." As he said that, he brought up his fingers and thick mist started appearing out of nowhere, obscuring Naruto's vision.

"They call you "The man who has copied over a thousand jutsu", don't they?" Zabuza then started to disappear within the mist with sword in tow, his voice now echoing around them. "Let's see if that'll help you stop me from killing that old man."

Upon his proclamation, the trio of genin swiftly took up positions around Tazuna. Steeling themselves, they each brought up a kunai, ready to react if the rogue jōnin comes their way.

"Just who the hell is he?!" Naruto asked as he quickly brought up his _[Map]_.

"Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi started, his eyes fixed towards the nearby river. "He's one of Kirigakure's ANBU, one renowned for his talent at silent killing."

"S-silent killing?" Hinata timidly gulped.

"As the name implies, it's a method where he silently assassinates his targets in a blink of an eye. Before you know it, you just might find yourself in the afterlife." His back still turned against them, Kakashi continued his explanation.

"I still haven't fully mastered my Sharingan, so don't let your guards down."

Naruto sucked in a breath, redoubling his efforts to locate Zabuza. However, the results he got confused him. Moments ago, his _[Map]_ had only detected a single enemy. However, to Naruto's growing consternation, there now were multiple red dots circling around their position, making it impossible for Naruto to pinpoint Zabuza's location.

"Well, if we fail, we'll simply die." Naruto heard Kakashi nonchalantly say, distracting him from his efforts.

"That's way to carefree!" Naruto grumbled at his teacher. Seriously, Naruto understood the value of a joke during tense situations, but that was the furthest thing he wanted to hear right now!

His complaints were cut off however, as the mist around them started getting thicker than before.

"This isn't good…" Tazuna muttered. "The Land of Waves is surrounded by ocean, so the mist builds up really easily."

Before he knew it, Kakashi's form started to disappear within the mist. Thankfully, Naruto was still able to pick up Kakashi's presence with his Skills.

(Does that mean that the mist isn't messing with it at all then?) Naruto knew that the Fifth and Sixth mentioned that their respective Skills usually couldn't be messed with by outside means, but that only led to more questions as to why there were so many hostile readings around them.

"Eight spots." Naruto's eyes snapped left and right as he tried to pinpoint where the voice had come from.

"The larynx, the spine, the lungs, the liver…" He heard Zabuza list off, a growing feeling of uneasiness welling up from within him. Bringing up the his _[Map]_ once more, Naruto tried to listen out for where the voice was coming from while corroborating it with the signals displayed on the Fifth's Skill.

"The jugular and subclavian veins." Was it to the right? Or behind them?

"The kidneys, and the heart." Or was it…above?!

"Now then, which one of these vital-" Zabuza's voice abruptly stopped and was replace by the sound of metal clashing against metal. Naruto saw the kunai he had thrown fall onto the ground.

"He's over there!" Naruto yelled, hoping that Kakashi had something up his sleeve.

" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"**

Thankfully, he did, for he soon saw a giant ball of fire shoot up towards the tree that Naruto had thrown his kunai towards. The fireball impacted the tree, knocking it over from the force and setting its branches ablaze.

Did Kakashi do it? Just as the thought crossed his mind, Naruto saw a red blip appear right behind him.

"As I suspected…You're a sensor-type, aren't you?" Naruto heard Zabuza growl from behind him. "To detect me not once, not twice, but three times in a row? That can't just be luck."

"I was planning to deal with the Copy Ninja first, but you're too troublesome to keep alive."

Naruto stood frozen in place, feeling an insane amount of pressure bearing down upon him. Was this what a jōnin's killing intent felt like? It was nothing like what he had encountered when fighting against Meizu. That fight seemed like a joke in comparison.

**[Naruto, move!]** He heard his grandfather cry out.

Naruto bit his lip in an attempt to regain some semblance of composure, and willed himself to turn around. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and his eyes soon stared into the cold, dark voids of a practiced killer.

"It's over."

A strangled gurgle soon rang out, and to Naruto's surprise, it wasn't from him. Naruto's eyes widened when he realized that he – as well as the rest of his team – had been knocked away.

Naruto ignored the pain he felt as he landed a few meters away, instead staring in disbelief at the sight of Kakashi standing in front of a hunched-over Zabuza, a kunai firmly lodged within the rogue ninja's gut.

His disbelief grew further however, when he saw that the liquid pouring out from the wound wasn't colored red like he had expected it to, but was instead had the transparency of water.

"S-sensei! Behind you!" He heard Hinata shout, which was the loudest he had ever heard the girl speak. True to his female teammate's words, another Zabuza was standing behind their teacher, his sword poised to cleave the man in half.

"Die!" Zabuza yelled out as the version of him in front of Kakashi broke apart into water. Kubikiribōchō sang through the air, tearing the silver-haired jōnin in half.

Naruto bit back a scream. Surely, _surely_ , Kakashi hadn't been killed, right? This was just like what had happened with the Demon Brothers, Naruto was sure of it!

His beliefs were vindicated as he saw Kakashi's bifurcated body dissolve into water, much like how Zabuza had moment before.

"Don't move." Kakashi warned, having suddenly appeared behind Zabuza. A kunai was held threateningly against the Mist ninja's throat, a silent warning as to what would happen to Zabuza if he didn't comply.

"It's over." Kakashi said, parroting Zabuza's earlier declaration.

The two stood there for what felt like an eternity to Naruto, before Zabuza started chuckling out of nowhere.

"It's over, you say?" The sword-wielding man smugly said. "You just don't understand, now do you?"

Naruto started to feel apprehensive. Wasn't this supposed to be over? Kakashi had Zabuza cornered, not even his Water Clones had helped against the silver-haired man!

Naruto paused. Clones. The red dots.

As quickly as he could, Naruto brought back up both _[Map]_ and _[Search]_ , having dispelled the two in the confusion earlier. Almost immediately, Naruto saw a red blip rapidly approaching Kakashi from behind.

"Behind you!" Naruto, much like his teammate earlier, warned his teacher.

Zabuza, who up till that point had been breaking down when Kakashi had copied his Water Clones, clicked his tongue in annoyance. He soon broke down into water, revealing himself to a yet another clone, while another Zabuza soon appeared behind Kakashi.

Kakashi swiftly ducked, allowing the large sword to swing harmlessly past his head. The tip of the sword went all the way behind Zabuza, crashing loudly onto the ground. Not missing a beat, Zabuza turned with surprising grace and kicked at Kakashi, using the handle of his sword as an anchor.

The Konoha jōnin landed within the river with a loud splash, his figure hidden beneath the water. Zabuza charged towards the river after dislodging his sword, but came to an abrupt stop when he saw the caltrops Kakashi had scattered across the riverbank.

The Mist ninja scoffed and leaped over the caltrops easily, leaving the three genin and Tazuna to stare in horror at the river.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled out in concern, struggling up to his feet.

"T-to think Kakashi-sensei would be blown so far away from just a single kick." Hinata shivered.

"He's no slouch when it comes to Taijutsu, it seems." Sasuke observed, sweat dripping down from his forehead.

Much to their relief, Kakashi soon emerged from the beneath the river's surface, his normally spiky hair now droopy due to the water.

"W-what's with this water? It's usually heavy." Kakashi said in discomfort. As he said that, Zabuza dashed behind him, his hands swiftly forming multiple hand seals.

"Hmph, you fool!" He taunted as he finished the sequence. " **Suirō no Jutsu!** "

Kakashi barely had time to curse before he was encased within a sphere of water. He turned to see Zabuza standing next to his watery prison, a single hand outstretched within the sphere.

"You're trapped now." Zabuza chuckled. "This is a special prison that you can't escape from!"

"It makes things harder if you're able to act. Now then, Kakashi…" the rogue ninja said as he turned his head to look towards Naruto. "I'll have to settle things with you later. For now, I'll get rid of those kids. Especially the blond one."

As he said that, he brought up his free hand into a single hand seal.

" **Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu**." The man muttered. Soon after, a single clone rose up from the river, stepping forward to face the trio of genin. Naruto gritted his teeth as Zabuza chuckled menacingly.

"You might be a sensor ninja…" the clone said before rushing forward. "But it doesn't matter in a head-on battle, now does it?"

Before Naruto could react, Zabuza's clone had reached him. The clone swiftly kicked at the blonde genin's head, sending Naruto flying backwards. Naruto skidded painfully across the ground, his forehead protector coming loose from the force of the kick. It dropped onto the ground with a soft clink, before it was roughly stomped on by the Water Clone.

"In the end, you're just a kid playing ninja. You aren't even in the Bingo Book." Zabuza taunted as he started grinding his foot against Naruto's forehead protector. "Brats like you don't deserve to be called ninja."

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled out in concern while Sasuke let out a small gasp.

* * *

Within the Water Prison, Kakashi gritted his teeth. This wasn't good. At this rate, all of them would die. Kakashi cursed his own incompetence. Even now, he-

No. There'd be more than enough time to blame himself in the afterlife. Right now, getting his team and Tazuna out of here had the priority.

(I never wanted it to come to this, but I don't think I have much of a choice!) Steeling himself, Kakashi turned towards the genin.

"You three! Take Tazuna and run!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "You have no chance against this guy!"

"So long as he has me trapped in this Water Prison, the real Zabuza can't move! And he shouldn't be able to use his Water Clones too far from his real body. In any case, just run!"

Having given his orders, Kakashi silently prayed to whatever deity was out there that the genin would be able to make it out safely.

It seemed that his prayers were to go unanswered however, as none of the genin seemed willing to move. He looked towards Sasuke, hoping that the Uchiha heir would be able to convince his teammates to escape.

* * *

"There's no other choice!" Sasuke said to himself, as he prepared to dash towards the clone Zabuza. He couldn't see any other way out of this situation, not when there was no guarantee that Zabuza wouldn't immediately catch up with them even if they ran.

Mustering as much courage as he could, Sasuke dashed forward. In response, the Zabuza clone gave a disinterested glance and reached for the sword on his back. Sasuke knew that he didn't have any means of breaking through that sword, so instead, he started throwing a few shuriken in hopes of preventing the Mist jōnin from using it.

Unfortunately, his attempts amounted to nothing as the spinning projectiles were easily swept away with a single swing.

(However, this might be an opportunity!) Sasuke leaped up, hoping that the Water Clone's own sword had obscured his vision long enough to lose track of him. Swiftly pulling out a kunai, Sasuke angled his body and let his body fall towards Zabuza.

"There!" He shouted as his body drew closer and closer to Zabuza.

If he could just land this hit!

"Naïve." Was all Sasuke heard before he found himself being strangled by one of the clone's hands. Sasuke choked for air, struggling futilely against the man's grip.

Not a moment later, he found himself able to breathe again, though at the expense of having been thrown away like a used rag. Sasuke sucked in deep breaths as he shakily stood back up.

Were they in over their heads here? Sasuke couldn't help but have the sinking feeling that they might have. Trying his best to ignore the pain shooting throughout his body, Sasuke glanced around. Hinata had taken position in front of Tazuna, while Naruto – who had finally gotten up – stared ahead at Zabuza.

Inwardly, he clicked his tongue. Just what could they do in this situation? The Hyūga girl had her clan's signature Taijutsu, but that was meaningless in the face of an enemy that was not only faster, but also had a means of keeping her at a distance with that sword of his. Meanwhile, Naruto seemed shaken beyond measure, meaning that he was unlikely to be of any help.

At least, that was what he had thought. However, to his surprise, his blond teammate suddenly broke into a mad dash towards Zabuza, screaming at the top of his lungs.

(That fool!) Sasuke thought as he could do nothing but watch as his wayward teammate rushed recklessly forward. He was closing the gap rapidly, far faster than what Sasuke had thought him capable of, but that still meant nothing at the face of an opponent like Zabuza.

And true to his thoughts, Naruto was swiftly repelled, sending him flying backwards once more. Blood flew from his mouth as the blonde crashed painfully onto the ground. And yet, Naruto still seemed to have not given up yet, for the blonde staggered to his feet.

Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw what Naruto had clutched in his hand. Did that idiot seriously did that just to get his headband back?! Sasuke didn't know what was more incredulous, the fact that the blonde had risked his life for something like that, or the fact that he had actually managed to steal it from under Zabuza's foot.

Imperceptibly, Sasuke felt a twinge of respect towards Naruto start to form. It was absolutely reckless of the blonde genin. Sasuke knew that for a fact. And yet, he couldn't help but feel slightly emboldened by his teammate's reckless bravery. It was exactly what he needed to break out of his own self-doubting.

"Oi! You, brow-less man…" He heard Naruto say. He saw Zabuza's expression twist into a grimace. Was that a sore spot for the Mist jōnin? While Sasuke found the notion humorous, he filed the observation for later in favor of watching his blonde teammate.

"Record in that Bingo Book of yours, of the man who will one day become the next Hokage." Naruto declared, slowly tying his headband back around his forehead.

"For I am a Konoha ninja, Uzumaki…" The blonde paused, before smirking. "No, Namikaze Naruto!"

Nami…kaze?

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. This was the first time he'd ever heard Naruto refer to himself as such.

And that name, Namikaze. There wasn't a single Konohagakure resident that didn't recognize that name. For it belonged to the Fourth Hokage, one that was widely regarded as a martyr within the village walls. And here Naruto was, claiming such a revered name.

(Just what the hell are you on about, Naruto?!)

* * *

**AN: Right, cutting things off here. How did you all find it? I certainly hope that the chapter was to all of your liking. I understand that some of you might be a bit confused as to why I'm having Naruto reveal his heritage so soon, but rest assured that I do in fact have a plan for things. As for what they are…Well, you'd just have to wait and see!**

**Story-wise, I hope the bits developing more of the ancestors' backgrounds and abilities were interesting enough. More will be revealed later on, but I want to avoid having too many chunks of exposition in a single chapter.**

**As for the next chapter, it's likely to come out in two weeks' time like this one. Though I will admit, I had a tougher time going through this one partly due to being a bit demotivated from the lack of attention this story is getting. I'm not going to try and beg for reviews or anything, but it's certainly a weird feeling when a story I wrote when I was 14 did way better than something that I'm writing at 21.**

**Seriously though, I really could use some feedback on this, especially on whether or not the fights are engaging enough or not. But this note has gone on for long enough, so I'll see you all in the next chapter!**

**~Sul**

**A/N2: Reception seems to be decent so far, so I'll keep posting until I reach Chapter 6, which is the latest.**


	5. A Namikaze's Strength

**Chapter 5 – A Namikaze's Strength**

* * *

A dead silence hung in the air as everyone took in Naruto's proclamation. Kakashi was no exception, as he stared wide-eyed at his student. The blonde in question simply glared ahead at Zabuza, or rather, his clone.

"Pffft…" Zabuza let out a small chuckle, before he erupted into full-blown laughter.

"Hahahahaha!"

Both clone and original alike wiped a tear from their eyes as they continued to laugh mirthfully, leaving a very confused Naruto to stare at them.

"Hahaha, ah that's got to be the best joke I've heard all year." Zabuza said, laughter beginning to die down. "I mean, a scrawny brat like you? A Namikaze? Not even a child would fall for that!"

"It's true, dammit!" Naruto growled. He soon shook off his frustration and instead turned to his teammates.

"Sasuke, Hinata, lend me your ears for a bit." He said to the two, causing them to snap out of their stupor.

"What?" Sasuke frowned, questioning the blonde.

"I have a plan." Naruto grinned.

"Oh? You of all people are talking about teamwork?" Sasuke gave a slight smirk as he stepped forward. "Alright then, let's hear it."

"You sure are barking loudly, but do you really think you have a winning plan?" Zabuza interrupted, though he didn't move an inch.

This wasn't good. They have had multiple chances to escape, and yet they still haven't. His teeth gritted behind his mask, Kakashi tried to order the genin once more.

"What are you guys doing?!" Kakashi shouted from within his aquatic prison. "I told you all to run!"

"Sensei…" Hinata murmured in concern.

"It should've been obvious what would've happened once I got caught! Hurry up and run!" Kakashi continued.

"Even if you say that, there's no guarantee that we would be safe once we escaped, right?" Naruto shot back. "He'd just come after us immediately after killing you. If you think about it, saving you is our best option in the long run!"

Kakashi winced. There was no denying the validity of his student's words, and yet, he couldn't allow them to take the risk. Even if it meant losing his own life.

"Listen here, our mission is to protect Tazuna! Have you forgotten that?!" Kakashi reminded the group in another attempt to convince them to escape.

To his relief, his words seemed to be getting through to the blonde, for all three genin soon turned back to look at Tazuna in concern.

"Old man…" Naruto muttered pleadingly to the elderly bridge-builder.

Said man's eyes were downcast, the shadow from his hat hiding them from Kakashi's view. Kakashi fervently prayed that the man's sense of self-preservation was strong enough that he'd demand the genin to escape and protect him.

Unfortunately for the jōnin, it seemed that his prayers would go unanswered.

"Well…This was all my fault in the first place." Tazuna began. "I can't exactly shamelessly demand for my life to be spared."

(That's exactly what you should be doing, dammit!) Kakashi internally screamed in exasperation.

"Sorry guys," the elderly man rose his head and grinned. "Fight to your heart's content!"

"And there you have it." Sasuke smirked.

"I hope you're ready!" Naruto grinned in suit.

Dammit! His words having fallen on deaf ears, Kakashi desperately tried to come up with a solution to get him out of this mess. It was times like these where he wished his teacher's Hiraishin wasn't seal-based but rather a jutsu he could copy.

His lamenting was interrupted by the sound of Zabuza chuckling once more. The man in question shook in mirth, leaving his students looking at him in a mix of confusion and apprehension.

"You kids haven't learnt your lesson at all, have you?" Zabuza laughed. "You're still insisting on playing ninja?"

"What?" Naruto growled.

"When I was your age…" the Mist ninja began as he looked towards his hand. "This hand was already soaked in blood."

"Zabuza, the Demon…" There were a myriad of stories and rumors about the bloodthirsty nature of Zabuza, a good deal of which Kakashi was inclined to believe. It was one of the main reasons why Kakashi had been so desperate for the genin to escape, though sadly that plan seemed to have fallen through.

"Ohh? It seems that you've heard of me?" Zabuza, the real one that had him trapped, observed.

"A long time ago, in Kirigakure no Sato, which was often called the village of the Bloody Mist…" Kakashi began recounting the story he heard about Zabuza's rise to infamy. Zabuza, who was no older than Naruto and the others at the time, managed to slaughter over a hundred genin candidates by himself, despite supposedly not possessing the qualifications to be a ninja.

Kakashi could only imagine how horrifying of a sight it must've been to see a single child alive in a sea of corpses, especially when said child was responsible for those corpses in the first place.

As he started to wrap up the story, Kakashi glanced towards the genin to see their reactions.

After hearing all that, they must've finally grasped the severity of the situation by now, right?

* * *

Naruto didn't really give a shit about the long, boring story that Kakashi suddenly launched into recounting. Thankfully, Zabuza himself seemed to be enthralled in remembering his own backstory, for he completely ignored Naruto and his team in favor of commenting along with Kakashi's little storytelling session. Even his clone was partaking in the reminiscing, a fact that Naruto found mildly amusing.

Seeing as how his opponent was completely distracted, Naruto took the opportunity to regroup his team. Gesturing for Sasuke and Hinata to come closer, the gears in Naruto's mind started spinning in overdrive.

"I know we talked big just now, but do either of you have a plan?" Naruto asked.

"Weren't you the one who said he had a plan?" Sasuke frowned.

"I-I don't like the idea of doing so, but should we follow Kakashi-sensei's order and run?" Hinata timidly suggested.

"No, there's no guarantee that we would be able to escape in the long run." Naruto rejected her suggestion. "And besides, remember Kakashi-sensei's first lesson to us?"

"Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash, huh?" Sasuke mused, before smirking. "As much as it pains me to agree with you, it wouldn't do us any good to be worse than trash."

"I think I heard something unnecessary among all that, but whatever. Anyway, I would've told you guys by now if Kakashi-sensei hadn't interrupted."

"First of all, Hinata." Naruto started, causing the Hyūga girl to squeak in surprise. "That Byakugan thingy of yours can see in all directions, right?"

"W-well, there is a small blind spot, but yes, it can."

"Perfect. I need you to use it and keep an eye out in case Zabuza decides to make more clones to blindside us. In the meantime, you'll defend Tazuna while Sasuke and I try to distract the clone long enough for us to free Kakashi-sensei. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Y-yes!" Hinata straightened her back, her eyes shining with a determination that Naruto hadn't see from her before.

At the back of his mind, he heard the Third hum appreciatively, though he ignored it in favor of continuing.

"Then I'll leave that to you!" Naruto then turned to Sasuke. "And like I said, we'll be trying to get past Zabuza to free Kakashi-sensei. As much as I want to be confident here, I don't think we'll have much of a chance against him if Kakashi-sensei isn't able to help us."

"Very well, but how do you propose we do that?" Sasuke asked, before glancing towards the imprisoned Kakashi. "We don't have much time left though; he seems to be wrapping up over there."

"I have a couple of ideas, but it'll really depend on how things go. I'll try to keep the clone preoccupied for the most part, but if that doesn't work, then we'll have to do it more sneakily."

"And by that, you mean?"

"Oh, you'll see." Naruto grinned mischievously.

* * *

"That sure was fun…" Zabuza grinned beneath his mask as gleefully he remembered his genin exam. Well, he tried to make it seem as if he was gleefully remembering it. Truth be told, it hadn't been the happiest moment of his life, if happy at all. He just had a certain reputation after that incident, a reputation that was useful for him to keep up.

Either way, it was a good way to intimidate his opponents, especially these genin who were…currently huddled away while whispering.

Huh.

Zabuza felt a mild spike of irritation shoot through him, as he stoically watched as the brats continued to conspire amongst themselves. Kids nowadays, he swore. There just wasn't any respect.

"Hm? Oh, you're done?" the blonde genin asked dismissively as he turned back towards Zabuza. His black-haired friend turned to face him as well, before deciding to launch a cheap taunt.

"Sorry, we're talking about what we were going to have for dinner after we kicked your ass."

Oh, so that was how they wanted to play? Then he might as well oblige.

Launching himself forward, Zabuza swiftly appeared in front of the trio, his body tackling the black-haired teen. Caught off guard by his sudden burst of speed, Naruto gasped as his teammate was flung several meters away from him.

Blood shot violently out of Sasuke's mouth as Zabuza followed up his tackle with an elbow straight to the fallen teen's abdomen.

"Sasuke-san!" Hinata yelled out in concern.

Zabuza silently snorted as he stood up and firmly planted a foot on the Uchiha boy's stomach. Even after all that big talk, the fight was practically over already. Zabuza felt a slight pang of disappointment, as he had hoped that the kids would've provided him at least a little bit of entertainment.

"Come on now, and you call yourself a ninja?" He taunted the teen beneath him as he started grinding his foot in. "Your stomach's too soft you know? Did you even train yourself?"

Sasuke didn't reply him. Or rather, he couldn't, as Zabuza's foot continued to dig deep into his stomach, causing him to groan and writhe in painful agony. Zabuza spared a bored glance at him, before bringing a hand up to his sword. It was high time he ended things, after all.

"Well, then…" He tightened his grip around Kubikiribōchō handle. "Die."

* * *

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed as he swiftly brought his hands up to perform a **Kage Bunshin**. He had severely underestimated how fast Zabuza actually was, but that was a problem he could deal with later. Right now, his priority was freeing Sasuke, otherwise…

" **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** he yelled. Soon after, a number of clones came into existence, surrounding Zabuza.

"Hoooh, Shadow Clones, eh?" Zabuza casually observed. "And quite a number of them at that."

The Mist ninja slowly removed his foot from Sasuke, readying himself for whatever Naruto was about to do. A few tense moments passed at a single man stared down a small battalion of blonde-haired teens, during which Naruto's mind was racing. Even with _[Speed]_ , Naruto didn't know if he'd be able to outspeed the rogue ninja. Not to the extent he was able to with Gozu, at least.

As he desperately tried to think of a solution, he heard the First growl at him.

**[Why the hell are you hesitating? You already have all the tools you need to win.]**

All the tools? Even taking his ancestor's Skills into account, the only ones he was familiar with were the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth's. He didn't even know the others, let alone what he could do with them in this situation.

**[You still don't get it? Then let me spell it out for you: Use my Skill.]**

The First's Skill…Naruto had to keep himself from shuddering in fear as he remembered what the First was able to do with his Skill. Granted, it was by all means and purposes, a very simple skill. But in the hands of someone strong?

A new plan started to come together in Naruto's mind. If he could just keep Zabuza busy long enough…

A grin soon formed on Naruto's face, one that was soon shared by all of his clones as the knowledge spread amongst them.

 **[Looks like we're finally on the same page, kid.]** Naruto could practically hear the First grinning in the same manner. **[Go on, then. Show them the might of a Namikaze.]**

"Let's do this!" Naruto yelled, a declaration that was echoed by his clones. Brandishing their kunai, his clones leapt at Zabuza, who brought up his sword to block their attacks.

Heavily outnumbered, Zabuza was soon buried under a dome of orange-clad blondes, his figure completely disappearing within them. The dome pushed down against Zabuza in an attempt to pin him down. Meanwhile, Naruto – the real one – tossed his backpack towards his black-haired teammate.

"Sasuke, I'll keep him busy; you know what to do!" he yelled as he continued to struggle against Zabuza's strength. Between his own efforts and the efforts of his clones, Naruto knew that it was a matter of time before Zabuza broke free.

Thankfully, Naruto had another card to play.

_[Full Over]_

* * *

The brat had guts, Zabuza had to admit. He still came at him even after seeing how easily he handled his friend. And to think that he'd be able to create this many Shadow Clones as well, it was almost a shame that he had to kill him.

Almost.

Having blocked the blonde's attack, Zabuza reared his sword back in preparation to blow all the clones away in one fell swoop. Zabuza was rather confident in his ability to do so, for one didn't managed to wield a large sword like Kubikiribōchō without having ample amounts of strength after all.

What he didn't expect when he finally started to push back for real however, was for him to be met with even more resistance.

(What the hell is going on?!) Zabuza cursed as he felt himself actually getting pinned down. Even if he, as a Water Clone, only had a tenth of the real Zabuza's strength, that should've been more than enough to handle multiple genin. And yet, here he was getting pushed back. It just didn't make any sense!

The confusion and frustration he felt was mirrored by the real Zabuza, who stared at the orange dome surrounding his clone with narrowed eyes. Even with that many Shadow clones, there was no possible way that a single genin could overpower a jōnin. Was he secretly a chunin meant to escort the team?

Zabuza swiftly dismissed the idea when he glanced over at Kakashi, who was just as shocked as he was. It didn't look like he was faking it either. If so, did that mean that this kid had been hiding his true potential from even his team?

His musing was soon interrupted as he spotted a black shadow spinning rapidly towards him. Seeing an airborne Sasuke a ways behind the shadow, Zabuza could only assume that he had thrown something towards him. It was a good idea to attack him while he was distracted by the anomaly that was Naruto, but it was an amateurish attempt in the end.

Deftly reaching out and catching the object, Zabuza soon identified that it was a Fūma Shuriken. He could only smirk as he watched the bridge-builder's face fall as he realized that the genin's gambit had failed. His smirk faded away quickly when he saw another shuriken swiftly approaching him.

(They hid a shuriken in the first shuriken's shadow?!) Even he had to give the genin some recognition for their clever plot. Lesser ninjas might've been done in by such a technique, especially when facing genin.

Zabuza was not one of those lesser ninjas, however.

Leaping over the second shuriken while still making sure his hand was maintaining the Water Prison, Zabuza let the shuriken fly under him.

(Still too naïve.) Zabuza thought.

Now then, it was high time he struck back and taught these brats a lesson. And they had just handed him the perfect tool to do so too.

Zabuza reared his hand back to throw the Fūma shuriken, fully ready to disperse the army of clones that were somehow still pinning his clone down. When a puff of smoke suddenly erupted from behind him however, he quickly swiveled his head around to see a blonde boy where there should've been a shuriken.

Realization soon dawned upon him. They didn't just hide a shuriken under the first shuriken's shadow, they actually snuck an entire person behind him like that!

Still spinning from the momentum, Naruto started to rear his leg back. Twisting with surprising grace, Naruto spun and kicked Zabuza firmly in the stomach with a strength that belied his size.

"TAKE THIS!"

As Zabuza was sent flying backwards, spittle being caught in his mask, there was only one thing on his mind.

(Just who the hell is this kid?!)

* * *

As the water surrounding Kakashi promptly collapsed, returning back the river from which it was created from, Naruto grinned in satisfaction. Their plan actually worked! Not that he had any doubt, mind you.

Landing with a big splash, Naruto shook his head wildly in a vain attempt to dry out his hair. Rising from the water next to him, was a very soaked and very pissed-looking Kakashi. Thankfully, his anger wasn't directed at him, but rather the man whose ass he just kicked. Or well, his stomach anyway.

Said man promptly recovered from his kick in mid-air, somersaulting once before landing just above the water's surface.

"Naruto." Kakashi began while keeping his gaze locked on Zabuza. "Your plan was outstanding."

"Heheh, do you really think so?" Naruto beamed under the praise.

"You've really grown. And I mean all of you."

Naruto's grin grew bigger. In hindsight, his plan was certainly a risky one. He initially wanted to let him and his clones get blown away by the clone Zabuza's counterattack so that he could hide amongst them as disguise himself as a shuriken in the chaos. However, when the First had interjected with his encouragement, he saw a new approach to his plan.

 _[Full Over]_ – the First's skill. It provided the user a boost in all of their physical capabilities. Naruto knew that even with a small army of clones, their combined strength wouldn't have been able to hold Zabuza back for long. However, with every single one of them receiving a power boost, the possibility was no longer zero.

Thankfully, they managed to successfully pin down the Water Clone. Naruto was able to hide behind the dome and transform himself there, while making a clone just before that to immediately take his place. Then, he had the clone pass on its backpack to Sasuke, along with his transformed self within it.

From there, it went on just like their original plan. And with the success of that plan, that meant that their victory was assured with Kakashi back in the fight.

"Naruto-kun!" The urgency in Hinata's voice made Naruto spin around in alarm. "The clone Zabuza is starting to break free!"

Turning his attention to his clones, Naruto saw that they were indeed starting to falter. Naruto grimaced as adrenaline finally started to give way to fatigue. Skills were already a decent drain upon his chakra reserves when applied to himself. But after having to apply it to multiple clones for a prolonged period of time? It was no wonder that even he was starting to feel the drain.

"GRRRAGH!"

With a furious bellow, the clone Zabuza finally managed to burst free from his trappings, sending multiple orange-clad teens flying in every direction. His clones disappearing one after the other in puffs of smoke, Naruto felt a cold sweat start to form as he was faced with the full force of Zabuza's glare.

"Enough playing around, kid!" the clone barked in between heaves. "It's time I ended you for good."

Naruto took in the ragged appearance of his opponent as he swam back to shore. It seemed that even a jōnin would feel some exhaustion after having to struggle against a gang of teenagers holding him down. Granted, the jōnin in question right now was just a clone.

As he pulled himself up from the river, Naruto shifted his gaze over to his teammates. He saw them take up positions in front of Tazuna, with Sasuke standing further out closer to the Water Clone. He sent a subtle nod his way, trusting that the black-haired teen would get the message.

Neither of them was likely to be able to handle Zabuza alone. That undeniable fact meant that they both had to team up again. Seeing Sasuke nodding in return, Naruto brought up his hands once more.

" **Kage Bunshi-** "

"Oh no you don't!"

As soon as Naruto started to create his clones, Zabuza sprang forward like a beast on the loose, intent on eliminating the blonde genin before he could repeat his previous tactic. Caught off guard, it was all Naruto could do to leap away just in time as Zabuza's sword crashed into where he once stood. To Naruto's relief, Zabuza didn't manage to create a full-blown crater with the attack, though his sword did find itself embedded firmly into the ground.

Seeing his opportunity, Naruto dashed at the man, eager to dispel the clone while he was stuck digging his sword out from the earth's grasp. Unfortunately for the teen, Zabuza subverted his expectations and instead decided to leverage himself using his sword's handle, kicking the blonde away with a kick to his stomach.

(S-somehow this situation feels familiar…) Naruto thought as he felt his body fly backwards.

His abrupt flight came to an equally abrupt stop as he collided with something. Or rather, someone, as he felt a pair of hands pushing back against his back. As he felt the hands leave, Naruto turned back to see Sasuke smirking at him mockingly.

"What's wrong, couldn't handle him alone?"

"Shut up, we both know that you wouldn't have done any better!" Naruto grumbled, though his words only made Sasuke's smirk widen.

"Well, feel free to thank me later. You still can fight, right?"

Thankfully, _[Full Over]_ boosted his endurance as well, so he wasn't coughing up blood like Sasuke had been just a few minutes ago. The only downside to that was that he could feel his chakra reserves continue to slowly trickle away. Even with the chakra that he had regained from Zabuza dispelling his Shadow Clones earlier, it still meant that he was fighting on a time limit.

He couldn't admit that to Sasuke of all people though. Especially not to him. So instead, Naruto forced a grin onto his face.

"Who the hell do you think I am?"

"Hn. Try to keep up then." His smirk disappearing into a serious frown, Sasuke leapt up and threw a few kunai at Zabuza. The bladed projectiles were easily swatted away by the clone, who had dug out his sword during the genin's short exchange.

However, Sasuke's distraction meant that Naruto could go uninterrupted.

" **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Clones phased into existence around Naruto once more, though in much smaller numbers than when he had executed Operation Pin-Down-Zabuza.

Naruto and his clones started to scatter in hopes of making Zabuza lose track of the original. Brandishing their kunai, a couple of clones split from the group and charged at the Mist ninja. The Mist ninja in question simply snorted derisively, as he brought his blade up to slash at the two.

Kubikiribōchō sang through the air and sliced through the clones effortlessly, causing them to explode into puffs of white smoke. Right in front of Zabuza's face. Taking advantage of his's opponent's momentary blindness, Naruto stopped behind Zabuza and made a beeline for his back, a move that was mirrored by Sasuke.

As the smoke cleared from Zabuza's vision, he quickly noticed Sasuke's disappearance from the fray. Deftly spinning around, he caught both of their attacks with the flat of his blade, and promptly swatted them aside with a shove. Naruto and Sasuke skidded across the ground, leaving trails of unearthed dirt in their wake.

Naruto spared a glance towards his teammate, who winced in pain as he slowly stood up. It was becoming painfully clear that their initial momentum was losing steam, as fatigue continued to worm its way through both of them. Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration, the gears in his head spinning in overdrive as he tried to find an opening in Zabuza's guard. Unfortunately, he found none, for the sword-wielding shinobi was no longer underestimating them, as opposed to when he was toying with the genin earlier.

Having gotten rid of the remaining Shadow Clones, Zabuza started to rapidly approach them with his sword outstretched, only to come to an abrupt stop. Puzzled, Naruto suddenly felt water pouring down onto him. He jumped to the side in shock, and looked up to see arcs of water raining from above. Tracing the water's origins to the river, Naruto understood why the clone had ceased his advance so suddenly.

It was like a scene from some sort of folklore, as two majestic dragons made out of water clashed against each other above Kakashi and Zabuza. The two jōnin were stuck in a deadlock as Kakashi guarded against Zabuza's sword with a kunai. Water from the dragons cascaded around them, forming a hollow dome.

(So, this is a real fight between shinobi…) Despite himself, Naruto found himself entranced by the picturesque scene, absorbing in every detail. From the way the two dragons bit viciously into one another, to how Kakashi stood steadfast and firm against Zabuza's much larger weapon. So entranced was he, that he didn't realize the danger that was swiftly coming upon him.

 **[Naruto!]** / "Naruto!" His father's and Sasuke's voices overlapping, Naruto barely managed to bring up a kunai to prevent himself from being sliced in half. Suddenly finding himself in the same deadlock as his teacher, Naruto felt his arm strain as he struggled to keep Zabuza's sword away from him.

"Enough of this shit, kid. I need to end you now before things get worse." Zabuza growled as he leaned in.

Ohcrapohcrapohcrap, Naruto felt himself start to panic as his arm moved slightly backwards and the edge of Zabuza's blade inch ever so slightly closer. Even _[Full Over]_ wasn't providing him with enough strength.

"This is how it ends, kid. You're going to die here, all alone with no one to mourn you."

"Too bad he isn't alone."

Eyes widening, Naruto looked to his right to see Sasuke mid-swing. Sasuke's arm swung down with the intent of stabbing Zabuza, an action that Zabuza had no means of blocking as both his hands were on his sword's hilt. At least, that's what he thought.

To his utter dismay, Zabuza simply released his one of his hands and instead used it to catch Sasuke's arm by his wrist.

"Even if he isn't alone, that doesn't mean anything." Zabuza taunted as he tightened his grip on Sasuke's wrist, causing the teen to grimace in pain and drop his kunai. However, his grimace soon turned into a pained smirk.

"I wasn't talking about me." The Uchiha scion glared right into Zabuza's eyes. "Team Seven has three members."

"Wha-?!" As Zabuza gasped in shock, Naruto suddenly felt the Zabuza's sword leave the blade lock. Or rather, it dropped, as one of Zabuza's arms lost its form and turned into water. Turning to his left, Naruto was shocked to see Hinata pulling her arms back from where Zabuza's disintegrated arm once was. Veins bulging out around her eyes, Hinata launched herself forward with the intent to strike once more.

Clicking his tongue in irritation, Zabuza quickly let go of Sasuke in favor of picking up his sword, and leapt over Hinata's attack. As soon as he landed, the Mist jōnin started hopping backwards in a bid to gain a bit of distance.

"I should've guessed from the eyes…So you're a Hyūga, huh?" Zabuza growled.

Sighing in relief, Hinata turned her head to Naruto in concern. "A-are you unhurt?"

"Thanks to you." Naruto smiled at the girl, causing her to flush. "Oh, and Sasuke too."

"How kind of you to remember me." The black-haired teen snarked as he stood up.

"Now then, what are we going to do now?" Naruto asked his teammates.

"Zabuza's not going to let Hinata get close again, now that he knows what she can do to her."

"Oh yeah, what _did_ you do anyway?"

Flustered at the sudden attention, the Hyūga girl looked down. "A-ah, I used my clan's Taijutsu. It lets me disrupt an enemy's chakra pathways. Clones are made out of chakra, so it looks like it made his body unstable."

 **[Ah, the Gentle Fist.]** The Fifth chimed in. **[I recall hiring a Hyūga or two back in my time. It's encouraging to know that their fighters are still as capable.]**

Gentle Fist? The name didn't sound like something that was strong, but given the results here and the Fifth's praise for it, Naruto had to assume that there was more than meets the eye to it. That being said…

"So, we just need to get Hinata close enough to do her thing then?" Naruto mused.

"Pretty much, though it's easier said than done." Sasuke replied.

"But it's all we got." Naruto then grinned and formed a seal. "Follow my lead! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

Five clones came into existence around the genin, which was all Naruto could muster currently. Still, they had to make do. Dashing forward along with his clones, Naruto unleashed as many shuriken and kunai as he could. Despite having lost one arm, the Water Clone managed to deflect most of them with a single swing, while jumping aside to dodge the rest.

Not giving him a chance to rest, Naruto's clones closed in on Zabuza. One unfortunate clone met an untimely end at the edge of Zabuza's blade. Zabuza reared his hand back to slash downwards at another clone, but instead of dodging, he caught Zabuza off guard by catching his arm mid-swing. Naruto and another clone soon joined his efforts, effectively locking Zabuza's arm in place.

"Grrrr, hurry up and help me already!" Naruto yelled at Sasuke as he struggled to hold Zabuza back. Realizing his plan, Sasuke joined the armlock, causing Zabuza to growl in irritation.

"Let go of me, you little brats!" As he made to kick the blonde however, he felt a weight press down on both of his legs. Looking down in shock, Zabuza saw the remaining two clones pinning down his feet.

"Hinata!" Naruto and Sasuke called out in unison, with the Hyūga girl sprinting forward as fast as her legs could. As she rapidly closed the distance, Zabuza's clone struggled with increasing desperation. Thankfully for the genin, his efforts were for naught as two fingers were thrust firmly into Zabuza's chest.

Almost instantly, the clone's complexion started to fade into transparency, its body breaking down into shapeless liquid.

"Heh…Not bad, kids…" Was the last thing that left the Water Clone's mouth as it finally collapsed into water. With there suddenly being nothing to grip, Naruto and Sasuke tumbled onto the ground, with Naruto's clones dispelling into puffs of smoke.

"Ugh, that hurt." Naruto grumbled as he picked himself off the ground. However, his irritation soon gave way to elation as he realized what just happened.

"Wait…We did it!" Naruto cheered. "We totally kicked his ass!"

"Calm down, idiot." Sasuke said as he dusted himself off, though he tried to hide his own grin.

"I…I really did it…" Hinata stared wide-eyed at her hand. "I actually helped."

"Hell yeah, you did!" Naruto slung an arm around both of his teammates, causing Sasuke to frown uncomfortably and Hinata to blush. "Hinata, your Gentle Fist thingy was awesome!"

"A-ah! Naruto-kun?!" Hinata yelped in embarrassment.

"Tch, get off me already!" Sasuke grumbled as he ducked out from Naruto's arm. "Anyway, we're not out of the woods yet."

"Ah! Is the old man alright?!" Naruto exclaimed, suddenly realizing that no one was protecting Tazuna.

"I-I asked him to hide before I came to help, so he should be safe." Hinata replied nervously.

"Well, guess we just gotta look for him." Naruto sighed tiredly, the adrenaline slowly fading away.

Just as he was about to move however, Hinata gasped in surprise and snapped her head towards the trees.

"Who's there?!"

* * *

Kakashi's hands sped through a sequence of hand seals, intent on completing Zabuza's jutsu before the man himself could. Thankfully, Zabuza seemed to be preoccupied due to the subtle Genjutsu Kakashi had cast upon him, for the Mist ninja's hands had stopped dead in its tracks.

(With this, it's over!) As Kakashi formed the last seal, water started to swirl up behind him, coalescing into a large mass of water.

" **Suiton: Daibakufu no Jut-"** Just as he was about to unleash the jutsu, Kakashi heard a cry from one of his students.

"Who's there?!" Hinata yelled out, causing Kakashi to pause.

Out of nowhere, two needles flew through the air and stabbed into Zabuza's neck. Blood shot up into the air as Zabuza stared ahead in abject shock. His shock was mirrored by Kakashi, as he canceled his jutsu and instead shot forward to catch Zabuza's now-limp body. Pressing his fingers against Zabuza's neck, Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows as he realized that Zabuza was indeed dead.

Shifting his gaze towards the direction from which the needles came from, Kakashi took in the appearance of Zabuza's killer. A young man stood stoically atop a tree branch; his features obscured by the mask he wore. It was a mask that Kakashi was vaguely familiar with. While he had never come into contact with one of Kirigakure's hunter ninja, he had definitely heard stories about them, one of them being their trademark masks.

Kakashi could practically feel the gears in his mind turn as he tried to make sense of the situation. Before he could say anything however, the hunter ninja bowed.

"You have my thanks." A clear, almost feminine voice rang out. "I've been waiting for the opportunity to kill Zabuza.

"From the looks of that mask, you're a hunter-nin from Kirigakure right?" Kakashi probed, hoping to get more information.

"You seem to be quite knowledgeable, impressive." The youth gave a hollow compliment as he rose from his bow. "That is correct, I'm a hunter-ninja sent from Kirigakure to eliminate Zabuza."

A hunter-nin, huh? Given his build and voice, Kakashi assumed that he wasn't much older than Naruto and the other genin. A niggling doubt began to enter his mind. This wasn't just any ordinary kid.

"I have to compliment your students though; I certainly wasn't expecting to be spotted." The hunter-nin nodded towards Hinata, who looked surprised at the sudden attention. "And they even managed to pull off a win against Zabuza, albeit it being a clone."

Oh, right. That did happen, didn't it? Kakashi had been focused on defeating Zabuza, which would've in turn dispelled his clone, so he wasn't expecting the genin to be able to defeat the man's clone. He'd have to get the details from them later.

"Well, thanks for that." Kakashi replied. "I assume you're here to get rid of the body?"

In response to his question, the hunter-nin simply thrust out an arm to the side and disappeared in a gust of wind. He soon reappeared next to Zabuza's corpse, and effortlessly picked him up.

"Indeed. Your battle is over for now." The hunter-nin nodded. "I must get rid of this corpse, for it contains many of our village's secrets."

He brought up a hand, and wind began swirling around him once more. "Now then, please excuse me."

And with that, he was gone. Kakashi sighed tiredly as he shifted his headband down to cover his Sharingan. He turned towards the genin, who started approaching him with Tazuna in tow.

"First of all, good work, all of you." Kakashi smiled beneath his facemask. "It must've been tough, but you all pulled through."

His compliment made the three genin react in their own ways, with Naruto sporting a huge grin, Sasuke hiding a smirk, and Hinata bashfully smiling. Tazuna simply looked relieved that the danger seemed to have passed, a sentiment that Kakashi shared.

"I'd like to hear the details, but our mission hasn't ended yet." Kakashi turned around and started to walk. "We still need to reach Tazuna-san's home."

Hearing his name being mentioned, the bridge builder gave a sheepish grin and laughed. "So sorry, everyone! Well, you can all have a good rest at my house!"

Some much-needed rest sounded like music to Kakashi's ears. "Alright, let's perk up and go!"

Kakashi barely took two steps forward before he felt a sharp pain in his left eye. He grimaced in pain, but managed to shake it off. It wouldn't do good to collapse in front of the kids, after all. Just as he resumed his walking however, he soon heard the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"N-Naruto-kun?! NARUTO-KUN!"

* * *

**Snake? SNAAAAKE!**

**Ahem. And that's the end of it. So, this chapter took much longer than I anticipated, the last fight scene really gave me a lot of trouble.**

…

**Well, that's not the whole truth. Really, I was putting off writing in favor of playing Persona 5 Royal. And Phantasy Star Online 2. And Trails in the Sky – You get the idea. So I have to apologize for that. Sticking to a defined schedule is much tougher than I thought.**

**That aside, I hope you all are doing fine. I pulled Skadi in FGO, so I'm pretty happy. Summer Nero still refuses to come home though.**

**Also, I should probably start acknowledging reviewers, so many thanks to Reemikz and Lazymanjones96 for your reviews last chapter!**

**I think I cleared all that I wanted to say, so I guess I'll see you all in the next chapter!**

**~Sul**

**A/N2: Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. On Kaiseaya's request, here's a list of the Namikaze clan heads, their names, and their appearances:**

**First Generation - Namikaze Taichi - Spiky red hair, looks like a barbarian wearing animal pelts.**

**Second Generation - Namikaze Ryō - Black hair tied into a ponytail, dresses like a hunter. Has slightly tanned skin, but otherwise plain-looking.**

**Third Generation - Namikaze Masato - Shoulder-length blonde hair. Dresses like a nobleman. Always smiling.**

**Fourth Generation - Namikaze Shigeru - Short blue hair. Dresses like the Third, but with blue colors instead of his father's green. Wears glasses.**

**Fifth Generation - Namikaze Yuuma - Emerald-green hair, dressed slightly fancier than his predecessors, but in black. Eyes always shut.**

**Sixth Generation - Namikaze Kentarō - Wild, back-swept red hair that flows into his beard like a lion’s mane. Wears a maroon nobleman's garb with golden trimmings. Most muscular out of all the clan heads.**

**Seventh Generation - Namikaze Itsuki - Grey hair that is immaculately swept-back. Has the most-expensive looking clothes out of all the clan heads. Most noble-like.**

**Eighth Generation - Namikaze Minato - You know how he looks.**


	6. A Brief Respite

**Chapter 6 - A Brief Respite**

* * *

The sound of seagulls squawking in the distance reached Naruto's ears as his eyes slowly fluttered open. Groaning in mild discomfort, Naruto slowly pushed himself upright from the comfortable futon he was in.

Wait. What?

Shaking off his drowsiness, Naruto's eyes scanned the spacious room he was in. Sparse furniture was placed within the wooden walls of the room, with several windows lining the perimeter. A distinct, fishy scent filled his nostrils, one that reminded him of the boat trip from the Land of Fire to the Land of Waves.

Where the hell was he? Just as he was about to get up from the futon however, a woman entered the room and gasped.

"Oh! Looks like you're awake!" The black-haired woman exclaimed. "Hang on just a moment, I'll let the others know."

The woman turned her head, bringing up a hand to cup her mouth. "Kakashi-san! Kids! Your friend here is awake!"

Her call was soon followed by the sound of feet running up what sounded like a wooden staircase. Not long after, Hinata came into view with a worried look on her face. Upon seeing Naruto however, her face bloomed into one of relief.

"Thank goodness…" Hinata gave a demure smile as her pale eyes began tearing up. "You suddenly collapsed, an-and I thought you were dying and I didn't know what to do and-"

"Woah woah woah, calm down, Hinata!" Naruto was taken aback by the Hyūga's worried rambling. Thankfully, his words seemed to have an effect on his friend as she stopped speaking and instead started to take deep breaths.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun." The blue-haired girl said as she finally started to relax. "I was just so worried…"

 **[Oi, say something to her, you idiot!]** He heard the Fourth hiss.

(I was going to anyway…) Naruto grumbled in his head. (But she was worried, huh?)

Naruto felt a twinge of happiness when he heard that. Not because he liked making people worried, mind you! But he could count the number of people who would be actually concerned about him with a single hand. Knowing that Hinata actually cared enough to be worried on his behalf brought a smile to his face.

"Ahahah, sorry about that." He sheepishly grinned. "But thanks for worrying about me!"

"A-ah, it's no big deal." Hinata's face flushed as she averted her eyes shyly.

 **[Five out of ten.]** Naruto suddenly heard the Fifth say. **[She might've liked that response, but you should try to do better in the future.]**

 **[Eh, he's still young. I still remember how I could barely talk to a girl when I was his age…]** The Sixth added.

Was he being graded? Wait, what was he even being graded on?! Confusion shot through Naruto as he tried to make sense of his ancestors' comments.

"Really, you didn't have to run up so quickly, Hinata." Kakashi's voice broke Naruto out from his musing. The silver-haired jōnin soon entered the room with Sasuke and Tazuna in tow.

"Yo, you seem to be doing fine, Naruto." Kakashi casually observed. Both him and Sasuke settled around the futon, making themselves comfortable on the concrete flooring. Tazuna took a seat not too far away from them, the old man looking more than happy to be back home.

"Yeah, but what even happened to me?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you suddenly collapsed after that hunter-nin left." Kakashi cupped his chin in thought. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that you probably ran out of chakra."

 **[That's definitely what happened.]** Minato confirmed.

Naruto couldn't really believe it. He had always thought that he had a pretty sizable amount of chakra, so the fact that he had actually depleted himself was surprising. It seemed that his shock made its way onto his face, as Kakashi soon waved a hand dismissively.

"Now, now don't worry about it. It happens to the best of us, and you were all going up against an enemy that was waaay above your paygrade. Speaking of which…" The silver-haired jōnin then broke out into a smile. "All of you have been improving spectacularly. I had thought the way you all handled yourselves against the Demon Brothers was impressive enough for fresh genin like yourselves, but your performance this time was on a whole other level."

"Especially you Naruto," Kakashi nodded towards the blonde. "You managed to rally your teammates against an opponent that was stronger than all of you individually. Let this be a lesson to all of you: The teamwork you displayed in that fight can overcome even the most fearsome of foes."

Naruto beamed at Kakashi, before looking towards his teammates who sported similar expressions. Well, Hinata did at least, while Sasuke settled for a satisfied smirk.

"Now you're talking, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto pumped his fist excitedly. "This means we're awesome, right?!"

"You're not awesome at all." A boyish voice interrupted Naruto's cheering, causing the blonde to pause. At the doorway, a young boy wearing a cream-colored shirt with green overalls frowned at Naruto. His dark eyes peered out from underneath the shadow of his striped bucket hat.

Irritated at his sudden interruption, Naruto pointed an accusatory finger at the boy. "Who the heck are you?"

"Oh, Inari!" Tazuna exclaimed in joy. "There you are!"

"Welcome home, Grandpa!" As if a switch was flipped, the boy's expression softened as he ran up to Tazuna and embraced him.

"Inari, you shouldn't talk so rudely to our guests!" the woman scolded. "These ninja are the only reason why your grandfather made it back home safely!"

"Aww it's fine, Tsunami." Tazuna said as he stroked Inari's head tenderly. "Right, Inari?" The boy in question didn't reply at first, instead basking in his grandfather's affections. He then directed his sullen gaze towards the ninja.

"Mom, these guys are gonna die." Inari frowned as he turned towards his mother. "There's no way they can survive against Gatō."

"What'd you say?!" Indignation and anger shot through Naruto as he rose to his feet. He soon regretted doing so, as his body started to protest against the sudden movement. He put on a brave face however, not willing to show weakness in front of the brat who insulted him.

"Listen here, I'm the guy who's going to become the Hokage someday. A boner-fide hero!"

 **[A hero, eh? Not a bad look.]** The Sixth hummed in thought. **[Though isn't the phrase supposed to be "bona fied"?]**

Naruto's eye twitched as he heard the Sixth's correction. Who cares what the actual word was, it's the meaning that counts! Hearing Inari snort derisively, he directed his attention back towards the young boy.

"A hero? Don't make me laugh." Inari said with his head down, his eyes covered by his hat. The boy's expression then twisted into a sneer. "Something as ridiculous as that doesn't exist!"

"Wha-? Why you-Gah!" Naruto stepped forward, intent on teaching the brat a little lesson, only to yelp in pain as the soreness in his body decided to remind him of their presence.

"Hmph. If you can't even handle a little pain, then you're better off going home…" Inari said, turning around to leave.

"Oh, where're you off to Inari?" Tazuna asked. The boy paused as he slid the doors open.

"The sea…I'll be looking at it."

"Grrr, what's his deal?!" Naruto growled as the boy exited the room.

 **[Sheesh, such a rude child.]** The Third sighed. **[Still, there's probably more to this. You should keep your eyes open, Naruto.]**

"Sorry about that." Tazuna apologized on behalf of his grandson, though he opted not to say anything beyond that.

"Settle down now, Naruto." Kakashi said, placating the angry blonde. "There are a couple of important things I need to tell you anyway."

"Eh?" Naruto paused, blinking in confusion.

* * *

"Ahhhh!" Naruto exclaimed as his body hit the floor yet again. Glaring up at the tree in front of him, the blonde genin folded up his arms and huffed.

To say that he was irritated would be an understatement. After all, he'd just learnt a couple of hours ago that not only was Zabuza still alive, but the "hunter-nin" had played them all for fools! That wasn't what gotten him so irritated though. Heck, he'd go as far as to say that he was a little excited that their encounters with Zabuza hadn't ended in such an anti-climatic note.

No, the reason he was so miffed was something else entirely. After Kakashi had explained the situation to Naruto, he immediately pushed him and his teammates towards training. Now, one would think that he'd be learning some sort of cool new jutsu or a new combat technique to prepare against such fearsome foes. But nooooooo, he was stuck trying to climb trees.

Trees.

With his feet, no less.

Grumbling under his breath, Naruto started to get back on his feet, only to hear the sound of something falling nearby. Looking over, he saw Sasuke rising up from a crouch, having just fallen down from another tree. The black-haired boy looked up at where he had fallen from with narrowed eyes, before clicking his tongue in frustration at the lack of visible progress.

Naruto couldn't blame him either. Tree-walking was proving to be a much harder task that he'd thought it would be.

(Still…) Naruto followed Sasuke's gaze towards the trees, noting his rival's progress. (He's already reached further than me.)

No way he's going to let that stand! Giving a determined look, Naruto made to resume his attempts at tree-climbing when he saw a blue and cream-colored figure rising rapidly up a tree from the corner of his eyes.

Said figure soon reached the top, coming at a stop at one of the highest tree branches. Both Naruto and Sasuke watched with mouths agape as Hinata stood above them at the treetops, the girl breathing a sigh of relief.

"Hoh? Looks like the one with the best chakra control out of all of you is Hinata." Kakashi comment from his perch. The man was currently standing upside down under a tree branch, a hand holding onto his usual book. "And unlike a certain kid proclaiming himself to be the next Hokage, she seems to have good knowledge and control of chakra. Though now that I think about it, it looks like the vaunted Uchiha clan is losing out to the Hyūga clan this time, huh?"

Kakashi's prodding lit a fire under both of the boys. Naruto and Sasuke's eyes met, a wordless challenge being issued between them. And as if they were cued to do so, the two genin started running towards their respective trees, intent on beating the other.

Naruto's feet met with wood once more as he began his ascent. He only made it 2 steps above his previous marking before he lost his footing, sending the blonde tumbling roughly down the tree. Instead of getting irritated like before however, Naruto's face broadened into a determined grin.

It was on. He could do this!

* * *

"I can't do this!" Naruto groaned as he flopped onto the ground for the umpteenth time. Panting from exhaustion, the blonde weakly rose his head to look at his progress. He'd like to think that it was nothing to laugh at, seeing as how he barely made it up a few steps when he started, and now he was at least a third of the way.

Sparing a curious glance at his competition, he saw Sasuke in a similar state, the black-haired teen kneeling down on one leg. He had made it up further than Naruto, but anyone could tell that the blonde genin was rapidly catching up.

And catch up he would, Naruto swore. He was starting to get the hang of things after all, being able to find the right amount of chakra to pool around his feet. The tough part was maintaining it at a consistent rate, a skill that still eluded him despite his best attempts. Not that that was going to stop him though. Pushing himself upright, Naruto fought past the pain of his aching body, the tiredness from his previous chakra exhaustion coming back in full force. Just as he was rising to his feet however, he heard the sound of someone approaching.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata softly called as he approached him with a small container in hand. "You look like you're pretty hurt from all the falls…"

The Hyuga girl shyly held out the container, uncapping it as she did so. "Um…Would you like some of my healing salve?"

 **[Ahhh, she's such a nice girl, it almost brings a tear to my eye.]** The Seventh said. **[If only all the Hyūga were like her.]**

Ignoring his grandfather's comments, Naruto's face brightened up as he heard her offer. Having experienced the effects of her salve firsthand before, Naruto readily nodded. Giving his thanks as he dipped a pair of fingers into the container, he started to apply the healing ointment across the multiple scrapes and bruises he had received over the course of his training, only to pause.

"I-is something wrong?" Hinata worriedly asked.

"Ah no, it's nothing." Naruto replied as he continued to apply the salve. He could've sworn that he had more scrapes then what he had to cover though.

"Sasuke-san, would you like some as well?" Hinata asked, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts. The blue-haired girl approached Sasuke in the same fashion as she did with Naruto, with the Uchiha teen slowly rising to his feet. As Naruto watched as his rival accepted their shared teammate's kind offer, an idea popped into his mind.

"Sorry, got to borrow her for a bit!" Naruto said as he grabbed the girl by the hand and began dragging her away, leaving a confused Uchiha alone with the container of salve. Stopping next to a nearby tree, Naruto turned towards Hinata.

"Hey, hey, Hinata." The blonde sheepishly grinned. "You know how you managed to do the tree-walking thing better than both me and Sasuke? Think you can give me some tips?"

When he was met with no response however, Naruto took a moment to observe his silent teammate. "Er…Hinata?" Naruto asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Fueh?!" The girl yelped as she finally snapped out of her stupor. Crimson-faced, her eyes swam as she stammered incoherently for a while.

 **[Hahaha, you have no idea what you did, did you Naruto?]** The Sixth jubilantly laughed.

What could he have possibly have done? Utterly confused, Naruto gently rocked the Jewel from left to right, as if shaking his own head.

 **[Haah, you really are dense, aren't you?]** The Fifth sighed. **[Heh, though I'm one to talk.]**

"Um…What was your question again?" Hinata asked, having finally calmed down, though her face still held a blush.

"I was just hoping to get your help with the tree-walking exercise." Naruto said as he put his hands together in a pleading manner. "Please, I'm at my wit's end here! Just a bit of advice would do! Let's keep it secret from Sasuke too, alright?"

"Eh?" Hinata squeaked in surprise. Her blush soon faded away from her face as she frowned, seemingly thinking about something intently. Naruto waited with bated breath for her reply. After what felt like ages to the blonde, Hinata finally came to a decision, nodding to herself.

"Naruto-kun." She softly began as she stared firmly into his eyes. "I'll tell you what I know about chakra control and tree-walking…"

"Really? Than-"

"But!" Naruto paused, shocked at Hinata's strict tone. "I'll be telling Sasuke-san as well."

"What? Why him?" Naruto pouted indignantly.

"Naruto-kun, it would be unfair if I told only you." Hinata said pointedly, causing Naruto to wince. "After all, Sasuke-san is our teammate. And those who leave their teammates behind are less than trash, remember?"

Naruto was completely taken aback. Hinata was usually shy and stammered ever so often around him, so to hear her being so firm was something that Naruto hadn't expected to see.

 **[Well, I'll be damned! The girl has some fire hidden underneath all that shyness!]** The First exclaimed in surprise, a sentiment that Naruto shared. **[Now that's what I like to see!]**

"And well…" Hinata shyly looked away, her previous strictness disappearing as if it was but an illusion. "Even if I tell Sasuke-san the same advice, I still believe in you Naruto-kun!"

The girl's face reddened once more as she blurted that out. Naruto barely registered that however, as he was fixated on her words.

She believed in him.

A strange feeling grew in Naruto's chest as he mulled over those words again and again.

She actually believed in him.

Up until this point in his life, no one had ever outright said that to him. Sure, Iruka-sensei, the Third Hokage, and now his ancestors all had expectations for him. But he never thought that he'd hear someone tell him that they believed in him and be so genuine.

Eyes wide, Naruto stared at the girl in front of him, truly taking note of her for the first time. Blue locks of hair danced around as she squirmed in the silence. A sheepish grin came up to his face.

"W-well, if you put it like that, then I guess I'd just have to do it your way!" Naruto said, a finger scratching his face awkwardly.

As he watched as her face blossomed into a demure smile, Naruto felt the strange feeling in his chest grow stronger.

* * *

Kakashi grinned as he watched his students interact from afar. If he were to judge from Naruto's reaction…Well, let's just say that Hinata's efforts might just pay off in the future.

He wasn't expecting Hinata to be so straightforward either if he were to be honest. He was certainly glad however. Having pretty much zero experience with shy people, Kakashi had been at a loss as to how to break the Hyūga girl out of her shell.

Thankfully, her contributions against Zabuza's clone seemed to have given her a much-needed confidence boost, one that allowed her to speak her mind a bit better. That wasn't to say that she had completely changed however, but it was a step in the right direction. And with any luck, he wouldn't even have to lift a finger!

Brushing the thought aside, Kakashi watched as Hinata started walking away from her crush, the boy in question resuming his training with renewed vigor. The jōnin was glad to see him progress steadily, especially since he had so much more chakra than Sasuke and even Kakashi himself. If it wasn't for the fact that he saw it happen first hand, he would've never have thought that it was possible for the blonde to be able to suffer from chakra exhaustion.

(Speaking of which…) Kakashi grin faded away into a concerned frown. Thinking back to the previous fights, Kakashi couldn't help but be curious at the sudden abilities that Naruto was exhibiting.

And there was that proclamation he made as well. To his knowledge, Naruto's identity as his teacher's son was known only to a select few, none of whom would ever dream of going against the Third Hokage's order and letting Naruto know about his lineage. Seeing as that's the case, the fact that Naruto had declared himself to be a Namikaze was…jarring.

(I'll have to talk to him about that.) He thought as he watched the blonde fall yet again, though he made it up much further this time. (For now though, I'll just enjoy this.)

* * *

"Hah!" Naruto yelled as he made yet another mark upon the tree. Landing somewhat decently this time, the blonde grinned as he saw the distance between his current mark and his previous mark. Hinata's advice was paying off in spades!

Turns out that calming himself down and not getting so irritated was vital to having better chakra control. He already knew that he had to maintain a fixed amount of chakra at his feet from all his previous attempts, but actually being able to focus had helped tremendously.

(Still, it's not enough!) He thought as he glanced over to Sasuke's neck of the woods. While the gap between them had lessened once more, the Uchiha teen still had an undeniable lead. Especially since he had benefitted greatly from Hinata's advice himself, having seemingly gotten the hang of things much sooner than Naruto had.

 **[Having trouble?]** Naruto heard his father say. **[If you'd like, I could give you a few tips as well.]**

Excitement shot through Naruto at the thought of being taught by his idol. Just as he was about to eagerly accept however, the sound of Sasuke's feet hitting the ground reached him. Taking another brief glance, Naruto paused as he reexamined himself.

He didn't want to lose. That much was certain. But on the other hand…

" _I still believe in you Naruto-kun!"_

He didn't want to betray that expectation by relying on his father. Or any of the other ancestors for that matter. Despite himself, he was very much aware that he wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for their Skills.

"It's fine, Dad." Naruto whispered to the Jewel; his mind made up. "I can't rely on you guys forever. I'm gonna see this through myself!"

Not waiting for a reply, Naruto took off towards the trees once more.

* * *

 **[Ah…]** Inside the Jewel, Minato slumped back into his seat in disappointment. **[And I thought it was the perfect chance for me to be a good father too…]**

 **[Wanting to teach your kids, huh?]** The Fifth hummed. **[Can't say that I can't relate, but it simply wasn't an option for me back then.]**

The Seventh's gaze switched between his grandfather and father, noting the awkward expression on the Sixth's face as the Fifth said that. He couldn't exactly blame them, considering what had happened between the two when they were alive.

As for himself however, he felt a mixture of sympathy and vindictive satisfaction at his son's plight. After all, his son was facing the very same dilemma that he had faced back when Minato had been a child. He briefly considered offering up some words of advice towards the despondent man, but he decided against it in the end.

He always picked things up quickly after all. **(Maybe even too quickly.)** He bitterly thought, memories of Minato's growth coming to mind. He supposed that this too was just another aspect of fatherhood, watching your own son coming to terms with his child growing up.

Returning his gaze towards the display from which they saw the outside world, Namikaze Itsuki watched on as his grandson found himself losing control once more, falling from the tree and barely managing to land on his feet. Not letting himself be deterred however, the blonde boy resumed the exercise almost instantly, bringing a small grin to the Seventh's face.

**(Your grandfather is watching over you, so show me what you can do, Naruto!)**

* * *

Nighttime had come swiftly, with Naruto barely noticing the passage of time until after everything had darkened around him. After a brief moment to catch their breaths, both him and Sasuke dragged their exhausted bodies back to Tazuna's home, where a much-needed meal awaited them. Dinner had thankfully been a relatively uneventful affair, with the only interruption being Inari refusing to sit with them at the dinner table. Naruto had been too tired to bother with the matter, so he ignored the boy and continued to eat.

Now fully satiated, Naruto sat atop the futon he had awoken in earlier. Hinata had already returned to the room that she was sharing with Tsunami, while Sasuke was taking a shower downstairs. A self-satisfied smirk came to Naruto as he remembered how he had raced against Sasuke to see who would use the bathroom first, and managed to win after a liberal use of _[Speed]_. Call him petty, but a win was a win!

Still absorbed in thoughts of his minor victory, Naruto didn't notice Kakashi enter the room until the man had pointedly cleared his throat. Snapping out of his thoughts, Naruto looked up to see the silver-haired jōnin, now without his usual vest, leaning against the doorway.

"Yo, Naruto." Kakashi casually said. "Mind if we chat a bit?"

* * *

Naruto shivered as he felt the cold night air bite into his skin. The climate was much colder than what he was used to back in Konoha, or at least it was at night. Something about ocean winds, according the Third.

"So…" Naruto started as he continued to follow Kakashi a bit away from the house. "What did you want to talk about, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm, here should be far enough." He heard the jōnin mutter, before he turned to face him. "Well, for starters, I wanted to go over the previous fight with you."

"Eh? Didn't we already go over that earlier?" Naruto then came to a realization. "Ah, I know!"

"Hmm?"

"You wanted to tell me how awesome I was back then, didn't you?" Naruto grinned cheekily. "Aw shucks, you could've just told me then and there!"

Kakashi stared at the blonde dumbfoundedly for a moment, before sighing in exasperation. "No, actually."

"Huh? You're not?"

"I'm not."

"…You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure Naruto." Kakashi said with a tone of finality, causing Naruto to pout.

"Now as I was saying, I wanted to talk to you about something that happened during the battle with Zabuza." The jōnin said, his serious tone making Naruto stand at attention.

"I had looked through records before about your performance in the Academy back when I was first considering taking you all on as my students. You were a pretty lackluster student it seemed."

Before Naruto could protest against that assessment, Kakashi shot a hand up, cutting the blonde off. "Let me finish. While you were pretty bad back then all things considered, your performance ever since seems to indicate that you're a lot more capable now. After all, you were able to accomplish feats that even a chunin might've found difficult, such as overpowering a renowned jōnin like Zabuza, even if it was a just a Water Clone."

"The question is, were you always this capable?" Kakashi's one eye narrowed as he continued. "And if not, how were you able to improve this quickly in such a short amount of time? Not even something like training using Shadow Clones should allow you to perform the physical abilities you exhibited today."

Training using Shadow Clones? The concept hadn't crossed Naruto's mind before, but he filed it away as now wasn't the time for it. Naruto felt a cold sweat start to break out.

"And there was one more thing." Kakashi said, his eye staring straight at Naruto. "You called yourself a Namikaze. Why?"

And like that, Naruto felt the cold sweat evolve into a mini-panic attack. If he were to be honest, he had only declared himself that in the heat of the moment, and because he thought it would've sounded cool. Now it was coming back to haunt him. Thoughts spun around in his head like a whirlpool, as he tried to find a way to explain things in a believable manner. After all, what was he going to say?

(Oh, I just so happened to find a gem that contains the Skills of my long-dead ancestors, and now I have eight people talking to me in my head, including the Fourth Hokage!) Yeah, that'd go over well. He'd be lucky if they didn't lock him up in some sort of hospital.

At his wit's end, Naruto brought up a hand to the Jewel, clasping it nervously. Kakashi didn't miss that, his gaze shifting towards the bejeweled pendant.

"So, it has something to do with that, then? I was wondering why you were carrying that around."

"That…" Naruto trailed off, unsure as to how he should respond. His grip tightened, hoping that his ancestors could help.

Thankfully, his prayers were answered.

 **[Naruto.]** His father's voice came to him. **[I think you should tell him the truth.]**

Naruto's head snapped up in shock. Was he for real? Ignoring Kakashi, who had an eyebrow raised, Naruto looked at the Jewel.

**[Hear me out, Naruto. You can't keep us a complete secret forever. Eventually someone's going to make the connection between your new abilities and the Jewel. You might as well have someone you can trust in the know, and I can vouch for Kakashi. He's my student after all.]**

"Eh?" Naruto's voice leaked out. Kakashi had been his father's student? Neither of them had mentioned it, so the news was a complete shock to him.

 **[Well, I suppose I can see the logic in that.]** The Second said. Sounds of agreement came from all the other ancestors as well, indicating their approval.

"So? Are you going to make me wait here forever, or am I going to get answers?" Kakashi asked, clearly starting to get impatient.

"Okay…" Naruto said, directed both at Kakashi and his ancestors. "I'll tell you."

"Oh?" Kakashi said, relaxing a bit. "Go ahead then."

"B-but you have to promise that you'll help me keep it a secret!" Naruto said, glaring defiantly at the jōnin.

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. Likely seeing that Naruto wouldn't budge on this, the silver-haired man nodded his assent. "Very well."

* * *

To say that Kakashi had a headache would be vastly understating things. After all, his student was not only claiming to have the spirits of his dead ancestors within the jewel around his neck, including his own teacher, but he was also claiming that said ancestors gave him special abilities.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had pulled out his Sharingan to see if Naruto was under the influence of any genjutsu, he would've assumed that Mizuki had done something to the boy all those weeks ago. Giving an audible sigh as he tried to wrap his head around all this, Kakashi slid his headband back over his left eye.

Even though he'd confirmed that there was no genjutsu involved, Kakashi still couldn't help but be skeptical about Naruto's claims. After all, while Kakashi had heard that some noble families had abilities akin to the Skills that Naruto apparently had, there was never an instance of any sort of communication with the spirits of their ancestors and the like. And even then, he'd never heard Minato mention anything about being from a noble family.

Though now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure if his teacher had mentioned anything about his past before becoming a ninja at all.

Nevertheless, he still needed more proof. Something that he could see or hear that he wouldn't be able to deny its validity. Casting his gaze towards back towards his student, who was looking back at him with a nervous expression, Kakashi bit back another sigh.

"That's an interesting story and all, Naruto." Kakashi slowly began, trying to gauge the blonde's reaction. "But I don't suppose you have any proof?"

The boy in question looked shocked for a moment, as if he hadn't expected that he'd needed proof. Kakashi made a mental note to teach him how to maintain a poker face sometime in the future. As quickly as his shock appeared however, it soon faded into an interested expression, which then turned into an amused grin.

"Well? I'm waiting." Kakashi said, an eyebrow quirked at his student's sudden shift in behavior.

"Hehehe, I didn't think you were that kind of person Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a mischievous grin.

Kakashi suddenly felt a chill go down his spine, as if something irreversible was about to happen. Before he could say anything about it however, Naruto thrust an accusatory finger at him, his grin widening.

"Dad says that the only reason you wear that mask is to hide your nosebleeds from reading your novels."

And like that, Kakashi felt his world crash down upon him, for one of his most closely kept secrets was exposed. Mind working in overdrive to find some way to salvage his reputation with his student, Kakashi made to deny the allegations before being cut off.

"Oh, and that he knows you had dug around in his porn stash back when you were a genin."

How?! He was sure that Minato had been preoccupied that day, there was no way he could've noticed! Hell, he agreed to help Obito set up a date with Rin if he'd distracted Minato for him!

"Oooh, and he says-"

"Enough!" Kakashi yelled in desperation as he clamped a hand around Naruto's mouth, much to the boy's indignation. Kakashi ignored his protests, not wanting to hear any more of his secrets be spilled.

It took a good while before the two calmed down, both of them returning back to Tazuna's house eventually. At the back of his mind, Kakashi thanked whatever god was out there that he made the decision to have this conversation away from the house. He didn't need all three of his students knowing about his dark history dammit!

As he laid on the futon that Tsunami had kindly provided him with, Kakashi felt some lingering embarrassment as he recalled his wayward youth. Soon however, embarrassment gave way to new feelings. Despite himself, Kakashi felt a whirlpool of emotions swirl around him as the growing possibility that Naruto was telling the truth dawned upon him.

Happiness at the fact that his mentor was alive in some way, that he wasn't the only person in Team Minato that was still around. Sadness at the fact that he knew that that technically wasn't true, for Minato was now practically a ghost. Regret for all the things left unsaid before everyone precious around him had died. Shame at all the things he had done after Minato's death, and the things he didn't do. After all, he left Naruto to fend for himself for all his life, even though he was aware of the things that the boy had gone through.

Which came to the last feeling: hope. Hope that he could make things right. Or rather, that he had to. As his troubled thoughts finally started to fade away into some much-needed sleep, Kakashi swore to himself that he'd make a change.

He'd spent far too long dawdling, after all.

* * *

"…Huh?" Naruto sleepily groaned as he opened his eyes. For the second time today, he didn't immediately recognize where he was. Thankfully, he soon spotted the usual figures of his ancestors.

 **[Hey now, don't you think you're relaxing a bit too soon?]** The Third mischievously grinned.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto groggily asked as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. After all that he had went through today, he'd been looking forward to finally getting some sleep. Especially since he went to bed much later than he'd expected thanks to Kakashi's impromptu interrogation.

 **[I'd like to know that too!]** The Seventh harrumphed. **[If Naruto doesn't get his rest, it might impact his body's development. We can't have him be stuck at his height forever!]**

 **[It's fine, Dad.]** The Eighth said. **[While his mind might be in here, his body is resting properly.]**

He then turned towards Naruto, smiling gently. **[Now then, let's get started, shall we?]**

"Started? With what?" Naruto asked, his curiosity piqued.

 **[That-]** Minato barely opened his mouth before the First grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his neck.

 **[Why, with training of course!]** The barbarian grinned viciously. **[And on that note, you're coming with me!]**

In a blink of an eye, the First tossed the unfortunate blonde behind him, causing Naruto to tumble into the door to the First's room. The red-haired man soon followed suit, slamming the door behind him, leaving behind a chamber of Namikaze men shocked into silence.

 **[Goddammit, you old fart…]** The Second groaned at his father's sudden intrusion. **[We all agreed to let the Eighth have his turn too.]**

 **[I…But-]** Minato stared ahead despondently.

 **[There, there?]** The Seventh awkwardly comforted his son. **[It's better in the long run if Naruto masters the First's Skill anyway.]**

 **[I know that, but still…]** The Fourth Hokage sighed wistfully as he looked at the First's door. **[Naruto's had a tough life. I can tell. As his father, I want to be able to do something for him. Especially since I clearly hadn't had the chance to until now.]**

 **[…As his father, huh?]** The Seventh made a complicated expression as he mulled over Minato's words.

Father and son stewed in silence together, both unsure as to what to say.

* * *

**A/N: And the truth comes out! Well, to Kakashi at least. Hey y'all, thanks for making it this far! I know that my updates are getting more and more sporadic, but I've found that forcing myself to write just doesn't really work at times. I was initially going to try and make it longer, but I felt that this last scene was a good enough stopping point, and you all have been waiting too long for this anyway. So there's that!**

**Hope you all enjoyed it, especially with the bit at the end. I really enjoyed Brod Walt's character in Sevens, so I'm hoping that I did him justice here.**

**And as always, don't forget to review, it really helps motivate me and gives me an idea on how my story is being received. Shoutout to Reemikz and MaskedSharingan for reviewing the previous chapter!**

**Aside from that, I'll steadily work on the next chapter in hopes that you'll all read it. Until then!**

**~Sul**

**A/N2: Well, that's the end of the gravy train for now, since we're all caught up to the latest chapter on FFN. Chapter 7 is coming soon, hopefully by the end of this week.**


	7. First Love

**A/N: Important announcement at the end of the chapter, please remember to read it. But for now, enjoy.**

**Chapter 7 – First Love**

* * *

The forest gently swayed in the wind as two boys stood silently within. Neither of them spoke, instead focusing dead ahead at the tree before them. A single leaf fell toward the ground between them, torn off from its branch by the wind. Taking what felt like an eternity, the leaf gracefully glided downwards. Just as it made contact with the ground, both boys shot off towards their respective trees in unison, as if prompted by an invisible force.

Blurs of orange and blue rapidly climbed the trees, a clear winner between the two nowhere to be found. As both of them continued their ascent, glints of steel could be seen in the boys' hands. Both soon reached the apex of their trees, a resounding _thunk_ echoing throughout the forest.

"Haah, haah…How'd you like that, Sasuke?" Naruto panted tiredly, barely mustering a grin. "I reached the top first!"

"Hnn…You're clearly delusional." Sasuke shot back, equally as exhausted, but trying his damnedest not to show it. "I reached it faster than you."

"Heh. Someone's in denial."

"And that someone is you."

"Alright, that's enough!" Kakashi interrupted, making his presence known. "Why don't we stop arguing and make our way back down? Unless of course, you both would rather fall down instead?"

The two teens glanced towards each other, and an unspoken agreement was made between them as they both slowly started making their descent from the treetops. Watching their figures as they trudged down slowly the side of their respective trees, Kakashi grinned underneath his mask.

The two really were like him and Obito. Though ironically, the Uchiha in his case was more akin to Naruto than to his own flesh and blood.

(Well, let's not get too caught up in reminiscing.) Kakashi thought, leaping down from his perch. He passed the two teens on his way down, both of whom had apparently decided to make the speed of their descent a competition as well. As his body shot past the startled teens, Kakashi flipped midair and landed soundlessly on his feet, sending a mocking eye-smile towards the two.

His display clearly emboldened the two teens, as they both tried to mimic him, launching themselves off of their trees. However, clearly only one of them knew what they were doing. Kakashi watched as Naruto blanched when the blonde finally realized that he didn't know how to reorient his body, and the silver-haired jōnin winced in sympathy as his student crashed onto a pile of leaves. Sasuke followed soon after, though he managed to roll with the momentum and stopped at a crouch.

"Bleah!" Naruto spat a couple of leaves out of his mouth, climbing to his feet. "Never thought I'd ever find out how leaves taste."

"Maybe you should've looked before you leaped then."

"Shut up, Sasuke."

"Now, now, let's not start this again." Kakashi stopped the two before they could begin arguing. "First of all, I'd like to congratulate the both of you for learning tree-walking so quickly. Honestly, I didn't expect you two to have done it in just three days."

The two teens preened under the praise, with Naruto grinning openly while Sasuke hid his smirk.

"That being said, the two of you are far from being masters at it. As you grow as shinobi, so should your chakra control. Remember, chakra is our lifeblood. The better you are at handling it, the better at being a ninja you'll become."

Naruto visibly wilted, no doubt lamenting the fact that tree-climbing exercises were still going to be a part of his life for the foreseeable future. And to Sasuke's credit, he hid his reaction well, though Kakashi could still tell that he was of the same opinion as his blonde counterpart.

Kakashi mentally sighed. Typical teens. Always thinking that they've mastered something just because they were able to perform it adequately. Ah well, they'll learn soon enough that life wasn't that easy.

(Still…) Kakashi smiled to himself. (That doesn't mean that I can't throw them a bone once in a while.)

Clapping his hands together, Kakashi drew the attention of the two genin. "Now then, why don't the two of you have the rest of the day off?"

The two visibly cheered up, both boys eager to rest their weary bodies after three days of strenuous training. Just as they turned to leave however, Naruto suddenly came to a halt.

"Wait, but what about Hinata? It doesn't really seem fair if we get to rest but she doesn't." Naruto asked as he swerved around to face Kakashi.

"You don't have to worry about that. Hinata's already had her break, since she finished earlier than you two. The only reason I haven't made her resume her training was because I needed someone to watch after Tazuna and his men."

"Oh right, her eye thingy makes her perfect for that, huh?"

"The Byakugan, Naruto. It's called the Byakugan." Kakashi sighed.

"Right, right." The blue-eyed teen sheepishly replied as he turned to leave once more.

As the blonde boy left, Kakashi took the chance to ruminate on how he was going to teach his team next. Rummaging through one of his pouches, he felt his fingers brush against a set of papers.

(I suppose it's about time to teach them something a bit more advanced…) He thought as he dug out 3 slips of blank paper.

"Hey Sasuke, wanna race back to the house? Whoever loses gives up half of their dinner!" Kakashi heard Naruto call out from the distance. He couldn't hear Sasuke's reply, but given that the sound of two pairs of feet running soon reached his ears, he assumed that the Uchiha teen had accepted the challenge. He sighed at their childish antics, and looked towards the papers in his hand once more.

Maybe he'll wait for them to mature just a little bit more.

* * *

"Hmm…"

"…..."

"Hmmmmmm…"

"…"

"HMMMMMMMMM….!"

"Will you be quiet already?!" Sasuke snapped in annoyance at his blonde teammate. Said teammate was sitting on the couch cross-legged and cross-armed, humming to himself as if in deep thought.

"DAY OFFS ARE BORING, DAMMIT!" Naruto groaned loudly as he finally relaxed his limbs and leaned back against the couch. "There's nothing to do but sit around!"

"You're meant to rest, not jump around everywhere." Sasuke pointed out. It was times like these where the Uchiha scion lamented the fact that he was stuck with such a hyperactive idiot as his teammate. He seriously couldn't have gotten the Nara guy? At least he wouldn't have been as loud! Hell, he'd even take the Aburame kid.

(Well, that's not the total truth.) Sasuke admitted to himself. While he probably would've liked the peace and quiet he would've gotten with either of those two on his team, Sasuke couldn't deny that Naruto had been surprisingly decent as a teammate. He might even call him good if he was feeling generous.

And he definitely didn't know how their earlier encounter with Zabuza might've turned out if Naruto hadn't been there with his Shadow Clones and those strange abilities of his.

Speaking of which…What were they, anyway? He knew for a fact that Naruto hadn't been this capable back in the academy, given his reputation and status as the dead last. And now suddenly he was able to detect enemies way before even their mentor did, not to mention outpower and outspeed a jōnin-level rogue ninja's clones.

Sasuke would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't interested in where his blonde teammate's sudden boost in capability came from. And if he'd be able to obtain that same boost.

(Anything to have an advantage over _**him.**_ ) Sasuke thought as his expression darkened. Flashes of dead bodies and the stench of blood in the air came unbidden to his mind, memories of that day bubbling to the surface. Just like they always did. Sasuke took a shuddering, deep breath as he tried to push the memories back into whatever dark recess of his mind they crawled out from.

He threw a glance at Naruto to see if the blonde had noticed his moment of weakness. He didn't, thankfully, for the boy in question laid slumped backwards against the couch. Sasuke thought back to his dilemma. Could he obtain the same power as Naruto?

He couldn't just up and say it though. What was he going to do, just walk up to him and say "Hn, hand me your power."? Only an idiot would think that would work! All that would accomplish would be to piss Naruto off.

Still, his curiosity was starting to get the better of him. Perhaps he should try to break the ice a bit and lead the conversation towards Naruto's powers? Or would that be too out of character for him to do? Sasuke cursed his lack of people skills. Despite his status as "the popular guy" in the academy, Sasuke never really learnt much in the way of communicating with people.

Just as he was at a loss as to what to do, Tsunami came out from the kitchen with a piece of paper in hand.

"I heard you were bored?" The older woman teased. "In that case, why don't you hop into town and pick up some groceries for me?"

"Huh? Sure, I could do that!" Naruto leaped up from the couch, his previous lethargy nowhere to be seen. "Anything beats sitting around doing nothing!"

Sasuke tuned out the blonde as he received instructions from the dark-haired woman. Sasuke started to weigh his options. Stay here and wait until Naruto gets back, which could potentially take hours depending on how well Naruto is able to source for groceries? Or accompany him in hopes of finishing this task as soon as possible, with the potential of getting Naruto to talk about his newfound powers?

Well, when he put it like that, there was really only one option.

* * *

"Hmmm, some vegetables, eggs, and chicken?" Naruto read the grocery list out loud as he strolled along the road to town. "Seems simple enough!"

If he were to be honest, Naruto was even a little excited. He had never been to another town before! He wondered how different it was going to be compared to Konoha, especially since Wave was relatively far from the Land of Fire. He didn't even mind that all he was going to be able to do there was grocery shopping, since it was going to be a new experience for him.

(That being said…) Naruto thought as he spun around. "Why the hell are you, of all people, following me to do grocery shopping?!"

Sasuke gave a bemused stare, and deigned to continue walking instead of answering the blonde's question. Naruto stared in disbelief as his question went unanswered, before chasing after his teammate in irritation.

"Oi, I'm talking to you, dammit!"

Finally, Sasuke seemed to cave and stopped, throwing a backwards glance at Naruto. The two stared at each other for a moment, before Sasuke turned away and huffed.

"I just felt like it." Was all the black-haired teen said before he resumed his walking.

 **[Tch, typical Uchiha. You never can tell what they're thinking about.]** The Seventh grumbled.

Naruto was inclined to agree with his grandfather, but decided against joining in with the grumbling in favor of catching up with Sasuke, whose figure was slowly getting further and further away.

This wasn't really how he thought it would go.

It was just a question for god's sake! And yet Sasuke found himself unable to speak up. For the life of him, he didn't even know why he was having so much trouble. It wasn't like he was making a confession or something!

(That'll be the day!) Sasuke snorted at the notion. Still, he needed to find a way to broach the subject. He didn't want to piss Naruto off by saying something wrong after all, otherwise he'd never get an answer out of the blonde.

Maybe he should just try and be friendly with his teammate? Surely it couldn't hurt to build some sort of rapport, regardless of whether or not he'd find answers right now?

Unfortunately, that came with its own set of problems: Sasuke had no idea how to be friendly.

Not for the first time, Sasuke found himself cursing his upbringing. Or rather, his lack thereof. Turns out that having his social life limited to school and the occasional shopkeeper meant that he wasn't exactly a friend-making savant. Not that he had a choice in the matter, after a certain someone went and killed everyone he knew and loved.

Hell, at this point, he'd say that the person he had the most interaction with for most of his teen years was the very person that he was having trouble talking to. The thought of it was…less disturbing than he thought it would be. Especially now that he'd ended up on the same team as Naruto.

Now that he thought about it though, maybe he was going about it all wrong? Perhaps he should just come out and speak his mind in this instance? After all, they were alone in an open road with no possible eavesdroppers nearby, so if Naruto had some big secret, there wouldn't be any risk of it being leaked out here.

His mind made up, Sasuke shifted his gaze towards Naruto…Only to find him absent.

"There's the town!" He heard Naruto exclaim excitedly from ahead.

Sasuke snapped his head back to the front in surprise. True to Naruto's words, they were already at the town's gates.

Goddammit.

* * *

"Stop sulking and hurry up!" Naruto huffed as he waited impatiently for Sasuke to catch up. For someone who volunteered to come, he sure wasn't very enthusiastic about it! He hasn't even properly explained why he came anyway!

When his dour teammate finally reached the town's entrance, the unlikely duo made their way through into the town. If he could even call it a town, that is.

"Wha-?" Naruto blurted out in equal parts confusion and concern. "Just what the hell happened here?"

Sasuke on his part seemed to echo his sentiments. Whatever had been eating away at him seemed to be a thing of the past, for he was now focused on the scene before him.

Everywhere he looked, he saw emaciated people shambling across the streets. Buildings were in varying states of disrepair, and there was even the odd corpse slumped against some of them. Naruto and Sasuke walked slowly through the dirty streets. Neither of them had imagined that this was what was awaiting them at the end of their trip.

"Is…Is this what's Gatō is doing to all these people?" Naruto mumbled in disbelief.

 **[That bastard!]** He heard the First snarl in anger.

 **[Our village has had hard times, but nothing compared to this…]** The Second whispered out in horror.

 **[He's starving the people.]** The Fifth, ever-calm, observed. And yet, even he had a twinge of anger in his tone. **[Making sure that they can't rise up against him.]**

 **[It's one thing to do this against an army, but this?]** The Third said in an uncharacteristically grave voice. **[This is just sickening.]**

 **[You should remain cautious, Naruto.]** The Sixth advised. **[These people are hungry and desperate. There's no telling what they might do.]**

Just as soon as the Sixth had said that, Naruto felt himself crash into something. Or rather, someone. A shifty-looking man grumbled, but stepped out of the way soon after. Just as he was about to talk away however, Sasuke's hand shot out and grabbed the man by his wrist.

"Wha-? Let me go!" The man protested as he tried to shake off the black-haired genin's grip. However, Sasuke proved to be too strong for the man, and instead tightened his hold.

"Not until you give back what you stole." Sasuke glared.

Stole? Alarms went off in Naruto's head, and he quickly checked his pockets only to see that his previous Gama-chan was missing. Spotting a poorly-hidden bulge at the back of the man's ripped pants, Naruto took advantage of his bound state to dig through it. Almost immediately, he dug out his wallet from within.

"Dammit!" The man cursed as his wrist was finally released from Sasuke's grasp. He walked away scowling, but not before spitting at the ground in front of them.

"Whew, it's all here." Naruto sighed in relief as he zipped his wallet back up. "Tsunami-san would've killed me if I let her money get stolen. So, er, thanks Sasuke."

"Hn. Pay attention next time. What kind of ninja gets pickpocketed?" The Uchiha teen turned away.

"I know that." Naruto grumbled, but he didn't have the heart to come up with a witty response like he usually would've. "It's just that…This. All of this. It's just a lot to take in."

"…We should go. Who knows what'll happen next if we stick around." Sasuke said as he started to walk again.

Just as Naruto was about to follow however, he heard a scream pierce the air. Turning towards the source of the scream, Naruto saw a lone girl surrounded by a group of men. The men were screaming incoherently about something, and were slowly encroaching upon her.

There was really only one thing Naruto thought to do.

* * *

How could she have been so careless? She knew that she would be targeted one of these days, no matter how much she tried to hide away from it. But she hadn't expected it to be in broad daylight, where she was picking up supplies for the shop! Said supplies were now laying on the ground next to her, though thankfully the contents of the bags had not spilled out.

She had bigger things to worry about though, like the mob that was slowly approaching her.

Perhaps that spoke volumes about the situation her country was in. People were getting more and more desperate by the day, and now they were even turning a blind eye to something like this. A dark part of her mind wondered if this was what she deserved. Perhaps it would be better for the people if they could let out their discontent upon her.

(I'm sorry, Shinobu-san…) She thought as she slowly closed her eyes to accept her fate, the men inching ever so closer.

At least, that's what she had expected to happen. Instead, just as she felt one of the men's hands brush against her arm, she heard him give a choked cry, along with the distinct sound of breaking wood. Her eyes snapped open to see an orange-clad blonde crouched in front of her. A distance away, her would-be assailant laid twitching amongst a pile of broken crates, a shoeprint on his face.

It didn't take long for her to put two and two together, but before she could say anything, a voice behind her spoke.

"Do you really have to go rushing off like that?" She turned to see a black-haired teen approaching them, his annoyance apparent given his expression.

"You saw what they were about to do to her!" The blonde shot back. "I'm not just gonna stand by and watch, Sasuke!"

"You could've at least discussed it with me." The black-haired teen, who was apparently named Sasuke, deadpanned before sighing. "Well, whatever. It's not like I'm in disagreement here."

"Hey, I knew you had a heart after all!"

"…Just deal with them before I reconsider."

"What, that was a compliment y'know?!"

As the two continued their back and forth, the girl stared at the two in disbelief. Just who were they? Evidently, the small mob before her had the same question, except they were getting more and more incensed as the odd duo continued to ignore them in favor of doing…whatever they were doing.

"Oi!" One of them eventually yelled, catching their attention. "Who the hell do you think you are, barging in here and attacking one of our folks like that?"

"Haaaah? From my point of view, it looked like you were the ones ganging up on this poor girl in the first place!" The blonde yelled back.

"T-that's none of your business, kid! You're clearly not from around here, or else you wouldn't be defending that bitch!"

"I don't care what you say, you creeps aren't laying a single finger on her!"

Growling in frustration, the man looked around at his companions - who were similarly disgruntled – and began advancing forward once more. Brandishing his weapon, a weathered meat cleaver, he then started charging at the two.

Gasping in horror, the girl made to yell out at the two to run away, only to notice that both of them had long since moved from their prior positions. The blonde slid across the ground and swept the man's legs out from under him, sending him face first into Sasuke's knee as he leapt up. As the man collapsed onto the ground, both teens glared menacingly at the mob, as if challenging them to meet the same fate as their friend.

"They're just two brats, get'em!" One of them yelled, and the rest charged at the duo. As they approached, the blonde then grinned and turned to his companion.

"Hey Sasuke, bet you that I can beat more of them than you."

"Do you have to turn everything into a contest, Naruto?"

"Aw, what's the matter? Chicken?"

"Hn. I didn't say no."

"That's the spirit!"

As if cued by some unknown force, the two shot off in unison in two opposite directions. The men soon followed suit, surrounding both of them in their respective locations.

Ducking under one of the men's fists, Naruto returned the attack with his own punch, hitting the man squarely on the chest. He stumbled back, but another man soon replaced his spot, launching an attack with a broken piece of wood. The blonde swerved left to avoid the hit, only to have to backpedal as the man continued to swing wildly.

Naruto soon found himself with his back against a wall, right next to where he kicked the first assailant to. Grinning menacingly, the wood-wielding man reared back and swung sideways. Naruto yelped and ducked, the wood swinging by his head with a loud whoosh.

Just as he ducked however, the man he kicked started to get back up. As he shook his head dazed, he found himself getting knocked back down, this time by his own friend's weapon. The wood smacked his face with a resounding crunch, making both Naruto and his opponent wince.

Seeing his chance, Naruto made use of his crouched position and swept his opponent's legs from out under him. The man fell forward onto his unconscious friend, and soon joined him in his state after a firm kick to the back of his head from Naruto.

A yelp of pain drew her attention away from Naruto's fight and onto Sasuke's, where he had one of the men pinned on the ground with their arm twisted painfully backwards. Two other men laid unconscious nearby. Before Sasuke could do anything else though, another man kicked at him. Forced to let go of his hold, Sasuke leapt backwards, successfully dodging the attack.

As the man helped his companion up, Sasuke was already back upon them. The two twisted their bodies away from Sasuke's tackle, only to be confused as he continued to run. She was confused as well, only for her confusion to turn into abject shock as Sasuke began running up a wall.

The black-haired teen soon launched himself off the wall, bringing one of his feet down upon one of his opponent's heads. The blow knocked him out immediately, and he crumpled onto the ground. Sasuke fell into a crouch soon after, and before his last opponent could react, he rammed his elbow straight into the man's stomach, causing spittle to fly out of the man's mouth as he joined his friend on the ground.

She stared in awe at Sasuke's display, only to snap out of it when she saw a body get launched up into the air. As the body came back onto the ground, she saw Naruto standing where the body was launched from, his arm outstretched towards the sky.

"And that's that!" Naruto grinned as he brought his hand back down. Similar to Sasuke, a few of the men laid in varying states of unconsciousness, some of them groaning in pain.

"So, who won?" Naruto wondered out loud as he began counting the men around him. "…3, 4, 5! I got five of 'em!"

"Five of them as well. It seems that this contest was meaningless from the start, there were an even number of opponents." Sasuke scoffed.

"Hey, you agreed to it!" Naruto grumbled as he walked over to Sasuke. "And besides, if you really think about it, I got that guy with the cleaver, I really beat six!"

Sasuke's brow twitched. "Excuse me? I believe I was the one who beat him."

"Hell no, I swept his legs first!"

"I was the one who knocked him out."

"So, you were just riding on my cocktails then!"

"Nonsense. I would've hit him with my knee even if you hadn't interfered." Sasuke then paused. "And it's coattails, not cocktails."

"Um…" She interrupted, trying to get their attention.

"Nuh uh, you would've totally flown past him if I hadn't hit him first!"

"Hey…" She tried again, louder this time.

"Keep telling yourself that. We both know who won this contest of yours."

"Hell yeah we do, it's-"

"WOULD YOU TWO CUT IT OUT ALREADY?!" She finally yelled, tired of being ignored. However, she paled as she realized what she just said to the two boys, who had both shown themselves to be very capable of fighting only moments ago. Panicking, she waved her arms in distress.

"Er, I mean-"

"Sorry about that." To her surprise – and utter relief – neither of them seemed to be angry at her, with the blonde boy sheepishly grinning at her instead.

"Oh, no, I…" She trailed off, unsure what to say.

"In any case, we probably shouldn't stick around here for much longer." Sasuke interrupted. "Who knows if anyone else is going to come around picking a fight."

"Ah, right." She replied, suddenly remembering that they were standing amongst a group of groaning, injured men. "Just a sec!"

She rushed over to where she had originally been standing before. The two boys gave a confused glance to each other and started following her, though she ignored them in favoring of opening the bags she had dropped earlier. Glancing around at their contents, she let out a sigh of relief as she saw that they were none the worse for wear.

Letting out a tiny, unladylike grunt, she hefted the bags off the ground. She then turned to the two, who were giving her inquisitive stares.

"Sorry, I'm good to go now. I'll lead you two to my workplace!" She smiled.

"Sure, sounds like a plan." Naruto smiled back. "Do you need help with those though? They seem a little heavy."

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly impose!" She said panickily. "You both have already done so much for me, even though I don't even know you two!"

"Oh right. We haven't introduced ourselves." Naruto grinned and pointed to himself. "I'm Namikaze Naruto! And emo over here is-."

"I'm not emo." Sasuke interrupted with a displeased look on his face. "Uchiha Sasuke." He nodded towards her.

"Namikaze-san and Uchiha-san…" She mumbled as she mulled over their names. They seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it. Realizing that the both of them were waiting for a reply however, she filed that information for later.

"My name is Hino Arisa. Thank you for rescuing me, Namikaze-san, Uchiha-san."

"Hey, don't mention it! And you don't have to be so formal with us, right, Sasuke?"

"Hn. Do as you wish."

"Then…Naruto-san and Sasuke-san." Arisa said hesitantly, as if testing out how it sounded.

"Eh, I'll take it." Naruto shrugged. Before he could go on however, one of the men groaned loudly and stirred. "I think that's our cue to leave."

"Yes, well, follow me." Arisa walked forward with the two boys in tow. As they walked along the path to her workplace, she couldn't help but wonder who exactly were these two boys? They couldn't have been much older than her, and yet they were amazingly strong.

If they were this strong, maybe they could even-

No. Arisa dismissed the thought. No matter how strong the two were, in the end, they were just two people. There was no way they could overthrow all of Gatō's men.

Not for the first time ever since that despicable man took over her beloved country, Arisa found herself lamenting her powerlessness.

* * *

"I'm back!"

Naruto watched as the girl they'd just rescued enter through a wooden door and into a medium-sized, two-storey building. The building itself was rather nondescript, it being in the same relatively dilapidated state as the rest of the town. However, an appetizing scent wafted from within it, one that made Naruto's stomach grumble.

Glancing to his side, he noticed that the scent had the same effect on Sasuke as well. He couldn't blame him either, since neither of them have had lunch yet.

 **[Oi, you shouldn't keep her waiting.]** The Sixth reminded, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts. Nodding to himself, Naruto entered the building, only for his eyes to open in shock.

It was…surprisingly clean. Normally he wouldn't be surprised by this, but in contrast with the outward appearance of the building, the interior was well-kept and looked no different from any establishment he'd catch a glimpse of in Konoha. Round wooden tables and chairs dotted the store, a simple menu placed atop each of the tables.

At the far end of the hall, Naruto spotted Arisa coming out from one of the back rooms, alongside a black-haired woman that he didn't recognize.

"Ah, Naruto-san, Sasuke-san!" Arisa waved at him and Sasuke, who had just entered the building.

"Take a seat, let me introduce you to my…" She trailed off, sending a pleading look towards her companion. Taking note of her plight, the woman smiled and approached the two genin.

"My name is Miyamoto Shinobu, Arisa's guardian. Allow me to extend my thanks for rescuing her." She said as she bowed.

"Hey, don't sweat it!" Naruto grinned. "We just did what anyone else would."

Shinobu's smile weakened. "Yes, well…That should've been the case, shouldn't it? Sadly, it seems the townsfolk have forgotten that."

"Ah…" Naruto grimaced. He might've not been the smartest person around, but even he knew when he had touched upon a sore spot.

"But nevermind that." Shinobu said, directing them towards a nearby table. "Why don't the two of you take a seat? I'll fix something up for the two of you. Think of it as a thank you."

"Really? Sweet!" Naruto immediately took a seat. There was no food better than free food after all! Sasuke seemed to agree, for he took a seat not long after, though he did so much more calmly.

As Shinobu left them and walked towards the kitchen, Arisa took a seat opposite Naruto. Cupping her head in her hands, Arisa smiled as she looked between the two genin. As the three stewed in silence, Naruto started to hear confused grunting.

 **[The name's right…And she definitely resembles her…]** The First suddenly said. **[C-could this be…fate?!]**

 **[Who are you talking about?]** The Second's annoyed voice asked.

**[Isn't it obvious? It's my first love, Hino Erisa!]**

* * *

**A/N: And that's it for now, folks! Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than usual, only being about 5000 words. And the fact that it's mostly filler. But hey, I tried to throw in a bit of action in there, so it's not completely terrible, right? ...Right?**

**Ahem. Anyway, I have some bad news.**

**No, I'm not dropping the story. You can lower those pitchforks now. I'm actually pretty invested in making sure that this one gets completed, so come hell or high water, I'm going to finish this one. However, I am about to become very busy, for I have to serve National Service for my country.**

**Basically, I'm getting drafted into the army. And this is going to be my life for the next two years.**

**Now, I'll have** _**some** _ **free time during this period, which I plan to put towards updating this story when I can. This just means that my updates will get more sporadic. Well, more sporadic than they already are.**

**So in light of all this, I hope that you'll all be understanding if I'm unable to update for any period of time.**

**TL;DR: Going to army, can't update as often. Prease undastando.**

**With that said, don't forget to leave a review, let me know what you think of the chapter. We finally breached 40K words, so I'm pretty happy about that! I'll see you all whenever I can!**

**~Sul**


	8. First Generation; Namikaze Taichi

**A/N: So, uh…It's been a while, huh? Like, what, 10 weeks? Anyway, here's the first chapter for 2021.**

**Chapter 8: First Generation; Namikaze Taichi**

* * *

Naruto didn't know too much about his family. Who could blame him? He was left alone for most of his life, completely unaware as to his own heritage. So when any of his ancestors shared something about their pasts, he listened intently.

And now was definitely one of those times.

**[It was back when I was still nothing more than a little brat…]** The First wistfully recounted. **[I had a pretty decent life, but I wasn't exactly pampered. No point investing too much in a backup after all.]**

The context flew over Naruto's head, but he recalled some of the things that his ancestors shared about the general history of the Namikaze clan. One of them being how the clan was founded.

Namikaze Taichi, the third son of a lower noble in the imperial capital. He could've led a life of relative ease living in the capital but instead, he became independent from the Namikaze clan in the capital, and he cut through the remote lands at the border and raised a village to support himself.

After all, he wasn't in a position to inherit much from his house. Whatever little they had went to his brothers.

But of course, the real reason he became independent was…

**[My first love, Hino Erisa, was from a noble house of a higher standing. To marry, you'd need quite a bit of prestige.** **So** **when I saw the Daimyō calling for volunteers to raise villages in unclaimed land, I saw my opportunity. I was gonna reclaim some land and become a noble of the same level before** **coming** **to get her…]**

Naruto watched with rapt attention as the First recounted his past. However, his reaction was not shared by the other ancestors, who all held varying expressions.

**[So that's it? You were smitten with a woman, so you volunteered to be a pioneer, and just like that, you raised the provincial Namikaze Clan? …No wonder things were still dicey after you got married!]** The Second complained, bringing up the First's wife. From what Naruto could tell, it seemed that it wasn't the best of relationships at first.

**[When I tried going back to the capital, my first love already went and got married! Of course I'd be devastated!]** The First gritted his teeth. He made to lunge at his son, but decided otherwise in favor of plopping down on his seat with a harrumph.

**[Ah.]** The Third suddenly spoke up. **[Now that I think about it…Could it be that the family precepts were based off of Erisa-san?]**

As the Third said that, the First flushed in embarrassment. The sight of a burly, bearded man like the First blushing like a maiden in love wasn't exactly something that Naruto wished to ever see again.

**[Ah, well…If I couldn't marry my first love, I wanted to at least marry someone who would be close to that, y'know? So I listed the qualities that I liked about her at a party once and claimed that they'd be the Namikaze Clan Precepts.]** The First recalled, scratching his cheek. **[Now that I think about it, I was pretty drunk off my ass, and I mostly said it as a joke. Never thought they'd actually become our Precepts. I'm actually surprised that I found someone who fit all of them in the end.]**

Unable to hold it in any longer, the Second screamed in rage.

**[YOU BASTAAAAAAARD! Just how much trouble do you think that caused me? Everyone and their mothers were telling me "precept this" and "precept that"! Because of you, I ended up marrying late, and because you just went out and thoughtlessly expanded the village, the aftereffects were…ARRRRRGH!]**

Watching the Second descend into madness, Naruto could do nothing but turn towards his father who was seated near him.

"So…er…Why are we here again?" He asked, sending a glance at the orb at the middle of the table. It seems that that orb was how his ancestors were able to see the outside world, something that was being demonstrated to him in real-time. Peering into it, he could see and hear Arisa and Sasuke talking.

Well, it was more of Arisa talking and Sasuke giving either short replies, or his signature grunts. It didn't seem like Arisa minded though, so he guessed it wasn't really a problem.

**[Well, the truth is…]** The Eighth began, pausing to wince in sympathy as the Second dropkicked the First. **[After seeing the state in this town, and its relation with Arisa-chan, the First declared an emergency meeting and dragged us all here.]**

**[Ah, that's right!]** The First exclaimed. **[After seeing all this, surely you're all moved as well, right?! That's why we should do everything in our power to help these people! It's what a good noble should do!]**

_(That sounds great and all, but you don't really sound convincing when you're locked in a wrestling match with your own son…)_ Naruto deadpanned.

**[Yeah, but what do you even want Naruto to do?]** The Sixth spoke up. **[His finances are pretty dire himself, and it's not like he can just** **storm Gatō's** **stronghold by himself and solve everything just like that.]**

Being told that, the First let go of his hold on the Second and folded his arms instead.

**[That's true, but…C'mon guys! There's a girl that looks exactly like my first love, and she needs help…** **Can't you guys understand my feelings?!** **]**

'Ah, so that's the real reason.' That sentiment seemed to be echoed by all of the other men present, Naruto included. In the face of the First's passionate request, the Fifth was composed.

**[No, I can't. We never had much freedom when it comes to love, and we pretty much married for the sake of the territory.]**

**[What a cold bunch! How can you all still call yourselves human?! Who do you think was responsible for bringing you all into the world?!]**

The answer was instantaneous. Starting from the second generation…

**[My mother.]**

**[Mom.]**

**[Right, mom.]**

**[Mama.]**

**[My mom.]**

**[I owe my mother.]**

**[It'd be my mom, right?]**

(Their opinions actually aligned for once!) Naruto thought in bemusement.

Before he could continue that line of thinking, the First cried out. **[C'mon guys!]**

**[If we're talking about feelings here, why don't you consider mine after seeing how worked up you're getting to save your first love when you already have Mother?]**

**[T-that's…]** The First flinched.

**[In any case, I think we've held up Naruto for long enough.]** The Third interjected. **[I think that lady is just about done with cooking anyway, so you shouldn't be rude and sleep through it, no?]**

Gratefully taking the chance to escape the First's whining, Naruto stood up from his seat and swiftly made for the door. Just as he left though, a stray thought entered his mind.

(A mother, huh? I wonder what mine was like.)

* * *

Naruto awoke to the smell of food in the air. He sat up and stretched, opening his eyes to see a bemused Arisa and Sasuke at his natural state of being: moody.

"Looks like someone had a good rest!" Shinobu teased as she set down a few bowls of soup.

"Ahaha…Guess that fight took a bit out of me." Naruto sheepishly replied.

"Well, a few sips of my soup ought to perk you right up!"

And perk him up it did. After giving a quick thanks for the food, everyone dug into their respective bowls. The taste wasn't exactly amazing, but despite the sparse ingredients, it ended up being pretty refreshing. They exchanged small talk for a while, before Arisa turned to Naruto.

"Say, Naruto-san…Sasuke-san told me that the two of you are shinobi, right?"

"You bet I'm one!" Naruto puffed his chest out in pride.

"I see…So you take contracts and the like, yes?"

"Yeah, in fact we're on one right now!"

"O-oh. Then I suppose you're not exactly able to take another right now then…" Arisa deflated, her shoulders slumping down.

"Even if we weren't, we aren't allowed to take a contract without going through Konoha's mission system first anyway." Sasuke jumped in. "Not while we're still genin, anyway."

"Is that so? It seems you shinobi have a lot of hoops to jump through as well." She smiled wryly.

"What's the matter anyway?" Naruto asked.

"A-ah! No, it's noth-"

"It's about the men who were attacking you, isn't it?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

Arisa froze. A range of emotions ran across her face, but before she could open her mouth, Shinobu intervened.

"Hey now, it's not like she had any hand in it, you know? Things like that are increasingly common nowadays." She said, smiling as amicably as she could. Naruto could see a certain tenseness to it that wasn't there before though.

"Is that really the case here?" Sasuke's eyes were like a hawk's, his gaze seemingly piercing through the woman. "Why did they claim that we wouldn't have defended her if we 'knew what she had done', then?"

"T-that's…" Shinobu shifted her gaze, struggling to come up with an answer.

"Shinobu-nee…That's enough." Arisa said with a sad smile.

"But milady!"

"It really isn't a secret worth hiding anymore, is it? I mean, even the townsmen had figured it out!" Arisa joked in self-depreciation. The red-haired girl then turned towards Naruto and Sasuke, giving the two a deep bow.

"My apologies for not being completely honest with both of you." She said, raising her head. "I wasn't completely lying when I said that my name was Hino Arisa. However, that's the name I took on after Gatō had taken over this country."

Her eyes were tinged in melancholy, seemingly recalling something. She gave a heavy sigh, taking a moment to steel herself.

"In truth, my name is Minami Arisa. Daughter of Nami no Kuni's Daimyō."

* * *

It had all started with a single proposition.

Gatō approached her father with a business deal that would've benefitted Wave's economy greatly.

Now, her father was no greedy tyrant. Everything he did, he did with the people in mind. In fact, he was so good-natured that he did not suspect a thing about Gatō, so he had not researched into the business magnate's background. Perhaps if he did, then Wave would not be in the situation it was in now.

Regardless of what she wished had happened, the truth of the matter was that her father had trusted Gatō's silver tongue and claims of bringing prosperity to Wave. Needless to say, that trust led to his downfall.

Before he knew it, Gatō had taken over all aspects of the country's economic processes, and proceeded to introduce his own goons into the land under the pretense of protecting business interests. Things only went downhill from there, as her father found even his most ardent supporters either being bought out, or mysteriously missing.

Alone on an empty and powerless throne, it wasn't long before they came after her father himself. Storming their estate, her family had been dragged onto the streets in front of their people. It would've been enough if her father had simply been killed in front of them.

However, Gatō was equal parts devious and vindictive. He publicly thanked her father for his aid in allowing him to take over the country, mocking his foolishness and tarnishing his reputation in front of everyone. And when he was sure that every single townsperson looked on at her father in hatred, he had him summarily executed on the spot.

"That was the day Wave truly fell. Both in mind, and in spirit." Arisa tearfully finished, trying her best not to collapse into a sobbing mess.

By the gods, she really tried. But as more memories of that horrible day came to mind, she could do nothing about the fat drop of tears that fell from her eyes.

(Oh, father…) She wept in her mind. (Why'd you have to be so stubborn? If only you had listened to mother…)

* * *

**[So that's what happened…]** Naruto heard the Third mumble. Silence hung heavily in the air as he and Sasuke sat alone at the table, Shinobu having taken Arisa to the backroom to dry her tears. His ancestors were seemingly at a loss for words as well, even the First. He would've thought that the boisterous man would've been the first to have gone off at a rage after hearing Arisa' story, but it seemed that he had decided to return to his room for the time being.

"I'm sorry you two had to see me in such a state." Arisa returned to the table with Shinobu in tow, snapping Naruto out of his musings.

"There's nothing to be sorry about!" Naruto immediately leapt up from his seat. "In fact, I'm sorry that you had to recall all of that!"

"Oh, there's no need to feel bad about that." She gave him a small smile. "In fact, it might've been good for me in the long run. I can't recall the last time I've cried that much."

"But still…" Naruto trailed off, unsure as to what to say.

"I'm sorry to hear about your situation." Sasuke suddenly spoke up. "However, I still have a couple of questions on my mind."

"Oi, Sasuke!"

"It's fine, Naruto-san. I don't mind at all." Arisa placated the blonde's protests, causing him to reluctantly sit back down.

"My first question is this: You said that Gatō had your family killed. In that case, why are you still alive?"

"Allow me to answer that one." Shinobu said. "It was not due to a lack of trying on Gatō's part, mind you. I was just barely able to get milady out of the estate with the help of a local fisherman, who hid milady and I until it was relatively safe. After which, I used what meagre funds I could salvage to start this diner, both as a way to support ourselves during these trying times, and so that we had a place to lay low."

"And that links to my second question: Why didn't the two of you just leave? Why go through all that trouble?"

"That…" Shinobu trailed off, a complicated expression on her face.

"I couldn't just get up and leave my home country." Arisa replied, stepping in. "After all, I love this place. I was born and raised here, so I just couldn't bear to leave it all behind."

"And above all else…" She lowered her head in shame. "As my father's daughter, I have a responsibility to suffer alongside the people for the sins my father had committed."

"But that just isn't right!" Naruto suddenly shouted, his palm smacking against the table, startling the red-haired girl. "It wasn't like it was your fault! Those people shouldn't be blaming you for anything!"

Indignation bubbled up from within him. How could it not, when he knew first-hand how it was like to be scorned for something beyond his control? To be treated as if everything wrong with the world was his fault? It simply wasn't fair!

"Maybe so, but as part of the ruling family, I can't fault them for thinking the worst of me and my family for what happened." Arisa gave a wry smile. "And not everyone was like that. Not at first, anyway. There were people who were still sympathetic, like Kaiza-san."

"Who?"

"Ah, right, you two wouldn't know him." Arisa said, flushing in mild embarrassment. "Kaiza-san was the closest thing this town had to a leader after my parents died. He was a close friend of my father, in fact, he was the one who helped Shinobu-nee and I escape. He eventually stepped in to keep the town united in his absence, and since he had the reputation of a hero in this country, people were naturally drawn to him."

**[I'm sensing a 'but' here…]** The Sixth commented. **[If such a man still existed, this place wouldn't be in its current state.]**

And his guess was completely correct. Arisa told them about how Gatō had eventually taken Kaiza prisoner, beaten him within an inch of his life, and had him publicly executed much like her father had been. What little hope that Kaiza represented to the country was snuffed out.

"And I can't do anything to stop it." Arisa finished; her hands clasped tightly together. "What's the point of being someone of noble blood if it isn't enough to protect those I care about? If only I had my family heirloom…"

"Family heirloom?" Sasuke asked. "I suppose that your request had something to do with that?"

"Well, yes." Arisa admitted. "Initially, I wanted to request an assassination on Gatō, but the amount of money needed for that is well beyond my current means. So I had thought, 'Hey, maybe I could actually fight back if I had _that_ thing!'. I'm tired of simply watching from the sidelines while people die around me!"

**[Kuh…She's such a strong gal…]** The First fawned over Arisa. **[Oi, Naruto! Screw the rules! Go and help her already!]**

**[We've already been through this, old fart, he's not in a position to do that!]** The Second complained. **[And should a noble really be advocating lawbreaking?]**

Ignoring the two's usual bickering, Naruto decided to ask a question that was bugging him.

"But what is this heirloom thing anyway?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion. "How is it supposed to help you?"

"Ah…About that…" Arisa blushed and looked away. "I'm actually not sure…"

…

…

…

"EH?!" Naruto blurted out, breaking the awkward silence. "What do you mean you're not sure?!"

"I-I mean, I know for a fact that it's supposed to grant some sort of ability to whoever wields it, but I've never actually used it before, so I have no idea how it actually works!" Arisa's face scrunched up in concentration. "I think it was called…a Gem?"

"EH?!"/ **[EH?!]** Naruto blurted out for the second time, this time being joined by his ancestors.

"Judging by your reaction, I assume you've heard of them?" Shinobu asked, a hand cupping her chin. "I'm surprised, Gems are pretty outdated as far as most people are concerned. Really, the only people who still use them nowadays are the older noble families."

"Well, er…I may have heard of them…" Naruto nervously replied, doing his best not to draw attention to the conspicuous Jewel hanging around his neck.

"I knew it…That pendant around your neck is a Gem, isn't it?" Arisa said, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room.

So much for his best. As Naruto tried to wrack his brain for an excuse, he found help from an unlikely source.

"Oi Naruto, it's getting late." Sasuke suddenly spoke up. "We have a task to handle, remember?"

"AH! I COMPLETELY FORGOT!" Naruto yelled, jumping up from his seat. "We gotta get those groceries before we're too late!"

"Oh, was that why you came into town?" Arisa asked, seemingly having forgotten about the Gem. "In that case, why don't you let us help you with that?"

"Huh? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure we can at least spare some of the stock we have, right Shinobu-nee?"

"Well, I suppose it shouldn't affect us too much if we did." Shinobu let out a despondent sigh. "It's not like we get much business here anyway."

* * *

Picking out the right items took lesser time than expected. Thankfully, the diner's storeroom was well-organized, so they had everything they needed in about an hour's time. Soon enough, Naruto and Sasuke were standing by the door, ready to set off.

"Again, thank you for rescuing me earlier, Naruto-san, Sasuke-san." Arisa said, bowing politely to the two boys. "And thank you for listening to my story. It was surprisingly refreshing to be able to talk about things, even if they weren't exactly pleasant memories."

"Hey, don't sweat it!" Naruto grinned. His expression soon shifted into a more serious one. "Oh but, I wanna say something before we go."

Setting down the bag he was carrying, Naruto suddenly thrust his fist in front of him.

"It might be hard for you to believe in anything now, but if there's one thing I hope you can believe in, it's this: We're definitely going to protect Tazuna, and we're gonna make sure that the bridge is going to be built. And that's a promise!" He declared to her; his face set into a look of determination.

"Hn. While I'm not about to boast as much as this loudmouth, I will say that I'm not about to let my first mission end in failure. You can be sure of that." Sasuke added.

Arisa stared at the two in equal parts shock and awe. The confidence with which both of them spoke almost made her believe implicitly in them. In fact, she sincerely wanted to. Bringing up a smile, she brought her fist up and gently knocked it against Naruto's.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing that bridge then." She said.

"You better believe it!" Naruto's grin returned once more as he hefted his bag back into his hands.

As Arisa watched the two shinobi disappear into the horizon, she felt something she hadn't felt for over a year now.

Hope.

* * *

"But still, you really helped me out of a bind there, Sasuke." Naruto said as he walked along the trail back to Tazuna's home.

"I just didn't want to hear whatever lame excuse you were going to come up with, that's all." Sasuke snarked, looking away. That being said, it wasn't like Sasuke wasn't curious himself.

"And besides, you clearly had a reason to keep it a secret. Even to go as far as to keep it from your own team."

Naruto almost tripped after hearing the implied accusation. Barely managing to regain his balance mid-step, Naruto gave a sheepish grin to his teammate.

"Ahaha…To be fair, I was gonna tell you guys eventually."

"Is that so…?" Sasuke deadpanned, clearly not believing the blonde.

"I swear, I would've! I was just told not to for now!"

"Told not to? By who?"

"Erk! Well…" Naruto trailed off, before flinching for some reason. "Anyway, I'll tell you about it some other time, alright?"

Oh no he didn't. Sasuke wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily.

"Look, it's one thing to not tell outsiders about it, but as your teammate, I should have a right to know about what you're able to do." The black-haired teen explained. "That information could be vital to how we function as a team in the future."

"That's true, but…Huh?" Naruto suddenly paused, his face shifting between confusion to contemplation to acceptance. The blonde then nodded to himself and turned his head to Sasuke.

"Alright, I'll tell you."

Yes! A vindictive part of Sasuke's mind took a small pleasure at being able to convince his teammate. With any luck, whatever techniques his whiskered teammate was aware of could somehow be learnt, and if not, at least he'll know the true extent of his capabilities.

He'd never admit this out loud to the blonde, but he definitely viewed Naruto as a rival, and as a good way to compare himself against his peers. Knowing what exactly he had up his sleeves would be a good gauge as to how much more he needed to improve.

"But!" Naruto started, snapping Sasuke back to reality. "I'll only tell you tonight after Hinata comes back. She deserves to know as much as you do, after all."

That…Was acceptable. While a part of him was a bit annoyed at having to wait, he couldn't fault that logic. Giving a grunt of acknowledgement, he hastened his pace.

"Wha-? Hey, wait up!"

* * *

Dinner had been a relatively uneventful affair. Of course, Tsunami was shocked at the fact that they had been able to find everything she had listed out, courtesy of Arisa and Shinobu. When questioned about how they managed to achieve such a thing, Naruto simply told her that they had helped someone out and were helped in return.

They didn't know how she might react to hearing Arisa's name after all, so the Third had suggested that he omit her from his story for now.

"Ahhh, that was a good meal." Naruto sighed in satisfaction, slumping back against his chair. He hadn't felt this full in a long while, so he was enjoying the feeling for what it's worth.

**[Hey, you're technically a noble too you know? Show a bit of decorum.]** He heard the Fourth chide.

**[Eh, ain't it fine? It's not like he needs to worry about something like that right now.]** The Sixth said in response. He heard from his father and grandfather that the Sixth had somewhat of a reputation of being a delinquent, so he wasn't shocked to hear something like that coming out from his mouth. It put him higher on Naruto's list anyway.

Putting his ancestors aside, he glanced around and saw Hinata staring at a picture frame hung on a nearby wall. Following her gaze, he saw what looked to be a family photo of Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari. However, part of the picture had been torn out. If he were to guess by the looks of the area surrounding the torn part, it was torn out deliberately.

It seemed his conclusion was shared by Hinata, as she soon turned towards Tsunami.

"Um…If you don't mind me asking, what happened to this picture? It looks like part of it was torn out by someone." Hinata meekly asked.

Almost instantly, all three members of Tazuna's family tensed up and froze, causing Hinata to let out a quiet squeak in surprise. Tsunami was the first to resume what she was doing, though she remained silent. Instead, Tazuna was the one who spoke up.

"The part that was torn out…Was of a man who was once called a hero of this town." The old man wistfully said. Right as he finished, Inari got off from his seat and promptly walked away.

"Inari? Where are you going?" Tsunami asked, finally turning around. Her question was ignored by the young boy however, who simply left the room. Overcome with concern, Tsunami quickly placed down the plate in her hand and chased after her son, but not before giving a quick glare at Tazuna.

"Dad, I thought I told you not to mention _him_ in front of Inari!" She said before closing the door behind her with a huff of frustration.

An awkward silence soon settled over the room, no one quite sure what to say. What Tazuna had mentioned before caught his attention though. Sending a quick glance at Sasuke, it seemed that his teammate had caught on to the same thing as well.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Hinata apologized after a while. "I didn't mean to make anyone upset…"

"Ah, it's not your fault here." Tazuna replied, his eyes still downcast.

"Still, it seems that there's a reason for all this." Kakashi pointed out.

"Inari…He had a father not related by blood. Despite that, they were as close – if not closer – as any other father and son." The bridge-builder said, his voice quivering with emotion. "Back then, Inari was a child who was filled with laughter."

With every word, Tazuna's body shook as he tried to hold back his tears. It was all for naught however, for a few droplets soon found their way onto the table in front of him.

"Um…Does his father's name happen to be Kaiza?" Naruto hesitantly asked.

"H-how did you know that?" Tazuna's head shot up.

"Ah well, you mentioned something about him being a hero of the town, and we were told about someone like that when we went into town earlier." The blonde replied, careful not to mention Arisa's involvement.

"I see…Then you should be aware of what happened to him then."

"…Yeah."

Tazuna then went on to explain to them how Inari and Kaiza met, about how quickly Inari took to Kaiza, and how he soon became part of the family. How he had saved one of the town's districts by bravely swimming through a flooded river during a storm with nothing but sheer determination and a rope tied to him to aid him, causing him to gain his reputation of being a hero. And of course, of how he met his eventual end.

"Inari has changed ever since then…" He sighed. "How could he not? He watched the man he called father get killed right in front of his eyes."

Naruto stared ahead as he recalled what Inari had said before.

" _There's no way these guys can survive against Gatō."_

" _A hero? Don't make me laugh. Something as ridiculous as that doesn't exist!"_

Now it all made sense. Naruto clenched his fists as he felt as if a fire had been lit within him. He leapt out of his seat, only to pause when he heard two pairs of feet land on the floor. Looking to the side, he saw Sasuke in a similar position, a look of determination set on his face.

"Huh? Where are you two off to now?" Tazuna asked, perplexed at the boys' actions.

"I'm going to prove it." Naruto's reply only further confused the old bridge-builder.

"Wha-? Prove what?"

"I'm going to prove that heroes do in fact exist in this world!" Naruto declared, punching his fist against his palm. "And to do that, I gotta train! In fact, I gotta train doubly, no, triply hard!"

"Uh…huh." Was all Tazuna could muster out in his confusion before he turned towards Sasuke. "And you?"

"Hn." The black-haired teen smirked. "While I don't care about whatever that idiot is babbling about, if he's going to train, then I'm not about to let him get a leg up over me."

"Um…I'm not sure what's happening here, but in that case, I'll train hard too!" Hinata added.

The three genin shared a nod, and made to walk towards the exit, only to be stopped by Kakashi suddenly stepping in front of them.

"Now, now, why don't you all calm down a bit?" The silver-haired jōnin said, snapping his book close. "While I admire your determination, there's a time and place for everything. If you don't rest up, your body's not going to get any stronger y'know?"

"If it's rest, then I've already had plenty today!" Naruto protested. "C'mon sensei, just let us do this!"

"You might've had rest, but what about Hinata? Need I remind you that she's been on guard duty the whole day?"

"T-that's…" Naruto looked towards Hinata guiltily. He had actually forgotten that.

"A-ah no, I'm fine, really!" Hinata frantically replied. "I was mostly just sitting around today, so um…I wouldn't mind being able to train."

"See? Even she says it's fine!"

"No means no, Naruto." Kakashi sighed. "Seriously, where was all this motivation when you were in the academy? I've heard a lot of stories about you, you know."

"Erk!" Naruto choked. To be fair to him, those sorts of lessons were just too boring! Why would he ever need to calculate the circumference of a circle anyway?

"In any case, I'm not going to let you all train tonight." Kakashi said with a tone of finality. Unable to come up with a decent argument, Naruto crossed his arms and pouted in indignation.

"That being said…" Kakashi smirked underneath his mask. "That isn't to say that we can't do a little something right now."

"Huh?" Naruto uncrossed his arms. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see. Now, why don't we head outside for a little bit? We wouldn't want any…accidents, after all."

* * *

"All that build-up…" Naruto deadpanned, looking at what Kakashi had just handed to him. "For a piece of paper?!"

"Hey now, that's not just any ol' piece of paper, that's chakra paper you're waving around there."

**[Hoh?]** The Fifth hummed in interest. **[So that's chakra paper. They were just starting to be developed around my time, so I've never actually seen any before.]**

Chakra paper? Naruto stopped waving the slip around and took another look at it. It seemed like just any other slip of paper to him. But it had something to do with chakra?

**[Well specifically, it's called Chakra Induction Paper, but most people just call it chakra paper for short.]** The Eighth chimed in. **[I'd tell you what it does, but I think that's Kakashi's job here.]**

"Hmm…So what am I supposed to do with this then?" Naruto asked.

"I'm glad you asked!" Kakashi smiled, leaning in. "You see, this little piece of paper might seem unassuming, but it actually has a really amazing ability!"

"Which is?" Naruto impatiently asked.

"How about I just show you?" As he said that, Kakashi took out another slip of paper from his vest, holding it up for the three genin to see.

"Now, observe what happens when I direct some chakra into it." Naruto watched intently at the slip, only to widen his eyes in shock as it suddenly crumpled.

"Huh?" He let out in his shock. His surprise was shared by his teammates, who were now looking at the paper with a lot more scrutiny than before.

"You see that? That means that my chakra affinity is Lightning." Kakashi explained, pocketing the now-crumpled paper. "That's the ability of a chakra paper: To show someone's chakra affinity. I assume you all are aware of the five basic natures?"

While both Sasuke and Hinata nodded, Naruto stared blankly ahead. Natures? He only knew of one nature, and that was Mother Nature. Where did the other four come from?! Not wanting to seem stupid in front of everyone, he kept his mouth shut. Thankfully, his father noticed his plight.

**[Naruto, you know how there are different elements in the jutsu we use?]** He started. **[That's what the five natures refer to: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water.]**

"Ahhhh…!" Naruto audibly hummed in understanding, drawing a raised eyebrow and a surprised look from Sasuke and Hinata respectively.

"Hmmm, well it seems like all of you are somewhat aware. In any case, why don't the three of you test it out for yourselves?"

The three genin shared a look between each other and nodded, before directing their attention to their own slip of paper. Pooling chakra into his hands, Naruto focused the chakra into the paper, feeling it sip up the energy steadily. Eventually, he saw a change.

Unlike Kakashi's, his did not crumple up but rather was torn in half, each half darkening as they became moist with water. Befuddled by this effect, Naruto glanced around to see if the others had something similar.

Surprisingly, Sasuke had dropped his paper, though a quick look at his feet explained why. The paper had been set aflame, and Sasuke had likely dropped it in surprise. It seemed that there had been more than just one reaction however, for through the small flames, Naruto could still see the paper's shape. It had been crumpled, much like how their teacher's demonstration had been.

As for Hinata, hers was somehow both damp, and yet retained the wrinkly shape that indicated an affinity to Lightning. Upon seeing that, Naruto groaned.

"Seriously? Am I the only one who doesn't have Lightning here?"

"Well, I'm about as surprised as you are." Kakashi lightly commented, eyeing the three of them. "There's a pretty diverse spread here."

"For starters, I'm sure that you can tell that Sasuke has Fire. And Lightning, if the shape is any indication. I'm not too surprised there, the Uchiha are known for their affinity for Fire." The silver-haired jōnin nodded towards the Uchiha scion, who simply responded with a grunt.

"As for Hinata, I'm pretty surprised to see that you have Lightning as well. Haven't heard of a Hyūga having that as one of their affinities, but I guess there's a first for anything. And since the paper's wet too, that means you have Water as well." The Hyūga girl stared at her paper once more, a wave of complex emotions showing up on her face.

"And last but not least, we have Naruto's." Kakashi turned towards the blonde genin. "Yours…is pretty straightforward. Wind and Water. Not an uncommon combination, and certainly not a bad one either."

Wind and Water…Naruto didn't know what to feel about that. He was certainly disappointed that he didn't have something cool-sounding like Lightning, or something that would've suited a Hokage, like Fire.

Both of which Sasuke had.

…

Bastard.

Be that as it may, Naruto found himself slowly warming up to the thought of having Wind and Water as his affinities. In fact, a thought suddenly struck him.

"If I have Wind and Water…Does that mean I can start making whirlpools?!" Naruto excitedly asked, the idea of living up to his given surname being very appealing to him.

"Ahahah," Kakashi chuckled. "Well, I'm pretty sure that there are already Water jutsu that can make whirlpools, but maybe you can come up with something that uses both in the future."

He then clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's attention.

"Anyway, tomorrow we can begin training your affinities in earnest. However, I can only train two of you at any given time."

"What? Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because someone still needs to guard Tazuna, you idiot." Sasuke smirked. "Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you already forgot."

"I didn't forget, it just…slipped my mind!"

"…Which means you forgot."

"…Shut up." Naruto pouted.

"Ahem." Kakashi faked a cough, bringing the two out of their spat. "Sasuke is right in this instance, we do need someone to guard Tazuna. With that said, tomorrow's shift goes to Sasuke."

"What? Why?" Sasuke asked in a similar manner to Naruto not too long ago.

"Hah, take that!" The blonde in question grinned.

"Calm down now, there's a reason for this." Kakashi interjected before another argument could begin. "Sasuke here already knows how to perform a Fire jutsu, correct?"

"…I do." Sasuke reluctantly admitted. "But how did you know that?"

"It's a Uchiha tradition to learn the Great Fireball jutsu as a rite of passage, no? It seems fair to assume that you had gone through the same thing in your youth."

"Hn." The Uchiha grunted, shoving his hands into his pockets. Naruto was about to laugh at him once more, but paused when he saw the look in his eyes. Of course, he could see the indignation one could expect from being told to wait before being able to get something that they wanted. But within his eyes, Naruto could also see a mixture of anger, pain, and...sadness?

That gave Naruto pause. Surely having to wait a single day shouldn't have impacted him _that_ much, right? It was then that Naruto remembered that Kakashi was talking about a rite of passage Sasuke went through in his youth.

Within his clan.

A clan that was now gone.

Damn.

It seemed that Kakashi realized his mistake as well, as he awkwardly scratched at his face while thinking of how to proceed.

"Mah, you don't have to worry." He eventually said. "I'll have plenty of time to teach you the days afterwards, so just bear with it for tomorrow."

Sasuke simply nodded, his mood seemingly unchanged. Kakashi let out a sigh, recognizing that he couldn't salvage the situation right now. Instead, he turned towards the remaining two genin.

"As for you two, we'll begin with some basic practices with chakra moulding before we move on to actual Nature Transformation. For now, why don't you all get some rest?"

* * *

The short walk back to Tazuna's house was silent as no one knew what to say, especially not with Sasuke still being in a dour mood. When they reached the house however, Naruto realized that he still had something that needed to be done.

"Ah, before we go to sleep, there's actually something that I need to say." He announced, walking over to the couch. Seeing the unspoken invitation, Hinata and Sasuke took up seats nearby, with Kakashi deigning to stand off to the sides. He seemed to have an idea about what Naruto was about to say, after all.

"Sasuke was the one who wanted to know about all this, but I thought it would be unfair if I left you out of it, Hinata." Naruto explained, glancing over to his teacher. "And Kakashi-sensei already knows, though he only learnt about it a couple of days ago."

"Long story short, I have the souls of my ancestors residing within this pendant, and they've been imparting on me their unique Skills that this Jewel had recorded."

"Eh? / Eh?" The other two genin blurted out, utterly confused at what Naruto just said.

"Oh, and I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage."

"Ehhh? / Ehhh?"

"Oh, and I guess I should mention the Kyūbi thing too…"

"EHHHHH? / EHHHHH?"

* * *

"That's…To think something like this exists…" Sasuke groaned as he tried to process everything that Naruto had just explained.

From what he understood, Naruto belonged to a long line of nobles who all possessed these abilities known as Skills, who have been passing down a family heirloom called a Gem between generations. Said heirloom also served to record down these Skills, which the next in line were able to use so long as they had the Gem.

The Fourth Hokage, who didn't actually defeat the Nine-Tailed Fox but instead sealed it within his own son, left the Gem behind in the Hokage Residence. Said son turned out to be Naruto, and when he had snuck in to steal the Scroll of Seals – a detail that further shocked Sasuke – he had accidentally found the Gem.

Said Gem then somehow evolved, and the ancestors found themselves able to communicate with one another as well as Naruto. Now dubbing the evolved Gem as a Jewel, they then proceeded to slowly teach Naruto their respective Skills. According to Naruto though, he has only learnt around four of them.

_[Map]_ , which gave him a view of the surrounding area.

_[Search]_ , which lets him pinpoint the positions of allies and enemies.

_[Speed]_ , which simply boosted his speed.

And _[Full Over]_ , which increased all of his capabilities by a certain amount.

Sasuke's head swam as he considered the sheer utility of those Skills. And he was saying that there were still more? A dark part of Sasuke considered if it were possible for him to steal the Jewel for himself, seeing as how it supposedly was able to impart its Skills to anyone.

However, he quickly quashed the idea for various reasons, chief among them being the fact that since the ancestors had the ability to withhold permission to use the Skills, there was basically zero chance of him being able to utilize the Jewel. Especially not if he tried to steal it.

And well…He didn't think he'd have it in him to wrest away Naruto's only connection to his family like that. He may have wanted power, but he wasn't willing to stoop that low, especially since Naruto was sort of a kindred spirit to him in the sense that they both had lonely childhoods.

Not that he'd ever let the blonde know that.

Snapping his thoughts back to the situation at hand, Sasuke mulled over things once more.

"So um…" Hinata started. "How many Skills are you able to learn?"

"There's eight Skills, one per ancestor." Naruto replied, before looking down at the Jewel. "Though the Second says that there's three stages to each Skill. I've only been able to use the first stages so far."

"I see…So that's about twenty-four in total?"

"Yeah, that seems about right. Twenty-seven if you include the fact that I'm supposed to have a Skill of my own. No idea when or how that's going to show up though."

Twenty-seven?! And he's only been using the lowest stages so far? Not for the first time that night, Sasuke found himself jealous of his blonde teammate. Just as he quashed that jealousy within him, Naruto nervously looked between the two of them.

"So uh…Is that it?" He asked hesitantly. "You guys aren't curious about another big detail?"

"What detail?" Sasuke asked, his eyes narrowing. As far as he knew, he wasn't missing anything important.

"Y'know…The giant fox-sized detail?"

Oh. Right.

That.

"I don't think it matters."

"Huh?!"

"Did I stutter? I said, I don't think it matters."

"But why? It's the Kyūbi, y'know?! Giant rampaging fox that almost wrecked the village? That?" Naruto frantically asked, surprised at Sasuke's lack of reaction. "You…You're not…"

"Scared of you?" Sasuke finished for the blonde. To which the blonde simply gave a hesitant nod.

"Please." Sasuke snorted. "As if I'd ever be afraid of you. As far as I'm concerned, you're still the same old idiot that I have as a teammate."

Naruto just stared at him in shock, unable to reply. Sasuke didn't understand why that was so surprising to him. After all, the blonde was guilty of nothing that the Nine-Tailed Fox did. Hell, he was even doing everyone a favor by keeping it from wreaking havoc upon the world once again by housing it within his body. The last thing on his mind was fearing him.

"I agree with him, Naruto-kun." Hinata chimed in, smiling gently at the blonde. "W-while it's scary to think that the Nine-Tailed Fox wasn't defeated after all, I don't think that has anything to do with you. And well…I lik- I-I-I mean, I really admire you! So please don't think that we'd hate you because of this."

"I…thanks." Naruto sincerely said to the two, his eyes slightly watery. "Although…"

The blonde then pouted at Hinata, feigning a sad look.

"You agree with everything that Sasuke said then?" He asked the Hyūga girl. "You think I'm an idiot too?"

"AHHHHHH!" Never in his life had Sasuke ever seen a face turn from blushing to pale as quickly as Hinata's just did. The poor girl flailed her arms in front of her in denial as she tried to stammer out an apology to no avail.

Seeing this, Sasuke let out a sigh. Naruto had no idea what he was doing to Hinata right now. Well, at least it was entertaining.

Thinking that, Sasuke felt a small, yet genuine smile slip onto his face.

* * *

"Ahhh, I'm pooped." Naruto grunted as he fell back onto a pile of leaves. Or rather, the bisected remains of leaves.

Almost a full day has passed since he'd met Arisa. After the long conversation he had with his team last night, he quickly fell asleep the moment his body hit the bed. And when he awoke, Kakashi kept to his word and began teaching both him and Hinata on their respective affinities.

In Naruto's case, that entailed cutting up leaves with nothing but his chakra.

The task was deceptively tough. At first, Naruto barely managed to make a small cut at the top of the leaf when he first tried it. He then made a few more attempts at it, trying out different things each time, like trying to forcefully apply more chakra to it.

That last attempt at that method had ended up in catastrophic failure, with the leaf shooting upwards out from his hands and into the sky.

As far as he could tell, it still hasn't come back down.

His failed attempts aside, he eventually got advice from his father who told him to try grinding his chakra against one another. At first, he didn't get the concept, but once he did, it was smooth sailing from there. One by one, every leaf that was unfortunate enough to land onto the ground was quickly bisected in half by an eager blonde.

After going at it for at least a couple of hours though, Naruto was definitely starting to feel fatigued. Putting his hands behind his head to form a makeshift pillow, Naruto started to feel his eyes grow heavy.

It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

* * *

**[Oi, up and at 'em!]**

Naruto groaned in protest at the loud voice bellowing at him. Why couldn't he just get a moment of rest?

**[Get up, or I'll make you get up.]** The voice threatened, prompting Naruto to crack open his eyes. The burly form of the First stood before him, his arms crossed in front of his muscled chest.

"What is it now?" Naruto complained, though he stood up regardless.

**[Is that how you address someone who's about to give you a lesson, brat?]** The First sternly sneered.

"You dragged me here on your own, dammit." Naruto then blinked as he looked around his surroundings. "Where are we, anyway?"

He found himself surrounded by a few wooden houses, with more over in the horizon. Around the houses were trees as far as his eyes could see, reminding him a lot of the forests around Konoha.

**[You're in the outskirts of the village I raised. Well, my memory of it anyway.]** The First replied before gesturing to the front. **[Anyway, look over there.]**

Naruto followed the First's gaze, and saw a man facing off against a large brown bear. Upon closer examination, Naruto realized that the man was the First, but younger. He still sported the First's unique barbarian-like clothing, and had a large sword that was more akin to a lump of metal on his back. Sporting slightly shorter hair than the one Naruto was familiar with, the younger version of the First glared at the bear in front of him.

The bear growled in response, its red eyes glaring hungrily back. Drool dripped continuously from its jaw, and it looked like it was about to charge forward at any moment.

**[We were in an unfortunate location, you see.]** The First explained. **[Lots of monsters around these parts. The brown bears were some of the worst in my time. They're faster than they look, and they're plenty strong too.]**

As he said that, the bear finally made its move charging forward while roaring ferociously. However, even in front of such a sight, the First was unwavering. Instead, he casually approached the bear and lifted up his sword with ease.

**[Look. That's my Skill's second stage…** _**[Limit Burst]** _ **.]**

Thin blue lines suddenly emerged and spread out across the younger First's body. They were akin to blood vessels, just that they emitted a pale blue light. The First's muscles expanded, and the large hunk of iron of a sword was swung down. In one fell swoop, the bear's body was vertically bisected.

Naruto's jaw dropped. He knew that the First was strong, but he didn't expect him to be able to cut cleanly through a mass of flesh and muscle like the bear that was before him. Even wielding such a large great sword with a single hand was abnormal, but his strength was just unbelievable. And even though he was displaying strength that would make even the toughest Taijutsu masters jealous, the First barely broke a sweat.

**[I was the village's first line and last of defense for the longest time, y'know? So when more and more of these beasties came, I just thought to myself "I just gotta get stronger!", until my Skill suddenly developed into its second stage. That was** _**[Limit Burst]** _ **. Uncle said it was like manifesting strength that surpasses the limit while also recovering the body, or something along those lines. I don't know the details, but apparently there's some detriment where the body would eventually reach its limit and break but…I really don't know anything about that.]**

Naruto couldn't believe what he just heard. He didn't know the details about something this important?

"Oi oi oi, so you're saying that Skills have demerits too? And who's Uncle?"

**[What, you didn't know something that simple? You're really an idiot, huh? Of course things will backfire if you keep forcing the usage.]**

"Didn't you just say that you didn't even know the details about your own Skill?! If I'm an idiot, then you're an even bigger idiot!" Naruto raged indignantly against his ancestor. "And just who the hell is Uncle?"

**[Gahahahah!]** The First suddenly laughed. **[That's good, that's why I like ya. Nothing wrong with talking back if someone said something to you. As for Uncle, he's the head of a neighboring clan. I used to rely on him a lot, especially when I just started out.]**

The First seemed to be slightly embarrassed by that fact, for he looked away. Just as he did, a second brown bear emerged from the woods.

**[Ah look, another one came. This time, you try fighting it.]**

"Huh? Right now?!"

**[Yeah, go for it. You've already seen me do it, so you should be able to as well.]**

"I really don't think it works that way!"

**[You'll be fine, just pile up your chakra and burn it all at once. Strength will come soon after.]**

The way the First explained it didn't help at all. However, the brown bear was rapidly approaching. Frantically, Naruto looked around for a weapon.

**[C'mon, think a little. You're inside the Jewel right now. Everything here is based on memories. If you wish hard enough for a weapon, then one will come to you.]**

Before Naruto could reply however, the bear had finally reached him. Rearing back on its hind legs, the bear swung down its front paws. Naruto quickly leapt backwards, but the bear had continued its offensive with a tackle.

With no choice but to face it head on, Naruto narrowed his eyes in determination and brought up his fists…Only to notice that they were clasping a pair of kunai.

(It's better than nothing, I guess.) Naruto thought, brandishing the pair. He started calling upon his chakra, focusing it inside of him.

Blue lines began to appear on his skin, and Naruto leapt into battle.

* * *

"HOW'S THAT! / KYAH!" Naruto yelled as his eyes snapped open. It took him a while, but he finally showed that damned bear who's boss!

Wait. 'Kyah'?

Looking to his side, Naruto noticed a pretty young girl – who looked about the same age as him – sitting next to him. Said girl was also startled beyond belief, having fallen backwards in her shock and knocking over the wicker basket next to her.

Realizing what happened, Naruto immediately stood up.

"Gah, I'm so sorry! I was fighting a bear in my dreams and it was really tough and are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, you just startled me, that's all." The girl replied, recomposing herself. "Ah, my herbs!"

Naruto looked over at her basket, and realized that the contents had spilled out all over the ground. Horrified, Naruto quickly leapt forward and began trying to pick them back up.

"I'm really sorry about all this." He apologized once more. "I really didn't think there'd be anyone else out here."

"Me neither, to be honest." She said as she knelt besides him, picking her herbs back up.

Now that he had calmed down a bit, Naruto finally took in her appearance. Garbed in a sleeveless, pink kimono, the girl's long black hair swayed gently in the wind as she continued to pick up her herbs. Eventually, she finished placing everything back and raised her head. Her gaze met Naruto's, her large brown eyes drawing Naruto in. Eventually, she looked away with a demure smile.

"Staring is rude, you know." She giggled playfully.

"Ah, my bad. I was just wondering what your name was." Naruto sheepishly said. "I'm Namikaze Naruto!"

"Me? You can call me Haku."

* * *

**A/N: Alright, that's about it for now. Tried to make this longer for you all since I haven't updated in a while. 9000+ words is a new record for me. Though a good chunk of it ended up being exposition…**

**The next chapter will have more action in it, I swear! Whenever I manage to get the time to write it, anyway. In any case, hope you folks enjoyed the chapter, do let me know what you thought of it by reviewing!**

**Until next time,**

**Sul~**


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